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Pointing people to the Bible
as the only source of truth. That is the sum purpose of this
work. I am not pretending to have within my grasp the total knowledge
and understanding of all truth. I will leave this human impossibility
to the one who not only possesses total knowledge and understanding
of the truth, but in fact is the truth in its purest form - the
LORD Jesus Christ.
Placed into the hearts of all who call upon the name of the LORD
is the Spirit of Christ. Available to all who believe that He
is LORD is the mind of Christ. And encompassed within the covers
of the book called the Holy Bible we find the Word of God. It
was through these divine conduits of communication that I was
led into this work, shown truths almost too deep to drink and
renewed in my burden of love for the lost of this dying world
and for the body of Christ.
I am urging you to be a Berean (Acts 17:11) and search the scriptures
for yourself. Leave no stone unturned and question all things
said by others against the benchmark of scripture. God has truly
kept His word when He says "The beginning of all wisdom
is to seek the face of God."
In the course of seeking the face of God I prayed earnestly for
Him to reveal to me the underlying purpose of the entire Bible.
I thought I had known it. In fact it seemed everyone around me
seemed to know, and yet I wasn't satisfied. There had to be a
bigger picture. To most Christians in the United States the "bottom
line" to God's plan is simple - the redemption from sin
and death of all who believed upon the name of the LORD Jesus
Christ. I hasten in telling you that I do not disagree with this
truth, but God's word reveals that it is only one component of
the "greater picture."
So what is this big picture? The last day! That's it, it can
be summed up in three words - the last day! All of scripture,
from "In the beginning . . ." to all prophecy yet to
be fulfilled, is driving with a single purpose towards the last
day.
Why is the last day so significant? I will
briefly lay out the answer as follows:
In the beginning God gave man an awesome gift - this world as
his very own kingdom. There was, of course, a certain command
that must never be broken:
Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or
you will die! Simple enough, Adam and Eve had more than they
knew what to do with. With so much abundance they could leave
one tree untouched. Enter Satan, you know, the one who aspired
to be elevated in power and glory like God. To take on God himself
would not have been a wise choice for a being as wise as Satan,
but there was a kingdom available that would do nicely, if only
there was a way to cause Adam and Eve to fall from God's favor.
Satan, being of highest rank in the legions of angels was privileged
to know of the agreement God made with Adam and Eve.
It is often taught that Satan lied to Eve, but upon closer examination
Satan's worst offense was not telling Eve she wouldn't die, but
in giving her more information than she previously had. This
disseminating of extra information combined with the removal
of the penalty (told she would not die) was all it took to cheat
mankind out of Paradise,
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good
for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining
wisdom, she took some and ate it." Satan warmed up the pan,
but it was Eve who talked herself into jumping into the fire
by taking her eyes off the penalty. Because God denied further
access to the tree of life, death began its "term"
on earth. Satan, now having accomplished the entry of sin into
the nature of the world, began to build his lordship on earth.
Unknown to Satan, God allowed all these events to take place.
As time marched on man became more distant from God and eventually
unknowing of God due to the blinding power of sin. The further
away from God he became the more enslaved to sin and Satan he
was. The knowledge of evil became the world's life style and
the knowledge of good was ignored.
God is a God of wrath but also of infinite patience and love.
He chose a stiff necked people in which to reveal His love, power
and intentions. Through Abraham the nation of Israel was brought
forth by God.
When she (Israel) had grown up, God married her and gave her
not only the conditions of their marriage but also the ways to
remain faithful to Him. God promised her that as long as she
was faithful and obedient she would flourish under His loving
care. But Israel went the way of the rest of the nations and
committed adultery with other nations. Eventually God divorced
her and punished her and sent her away. He always brought back
to Himself a remnant that repented and loved Him. God knew that
Israel would repeat these offenses many times and so He set into
motion a plan to bring others to Himself and to make her jealous.
He planned to bring a son into the world with her. This son would
eventually lead them back to God forever. But when this son was
born and had grown and came forth his mother (Israel) rejected
him as illegitimate. Although rejected and killed by Israel,
the son was raised from the dead by God and given a throne from
which He will rule the world as His kingdom. Many who were not
from Israel accepted the son as the legitimate king and became
His brothers. God scattered Israel (70 A.D. when the temple was
destroyed by the Romans and Israel as a nation ceased to exist)
to the four winds and upon the whole face of the world as punishment
for her hardness and disobedience.
Because He loves Israel God promises to send His son again as
the legitimate king of the earth who will take His kingdom from
Satan by force. God promises to resurrect from the dead those
who have believed upon their king and obeyed Him and longed for
His return. He will spare them from His final wrath against His
enemies. Before this final onslaught upon the earth unbelieving
Israel will be severely beaten and punished.
When the final battle is over the LORD will tenderly love Israel's
remnant. They will recognize their Savior when they realize that
it was He that they had pierced and left to die on the cross.
They will mourn and then they will rejoice, for Jerusalem will
be chief over all mountains on earth forever and ever. You see,
the conclusion is that those who are faithful to God (the resistance)
while living in occupied territory (Satan's kingdom) will receive
an inheritance in the LORD's kingdom when Jesus Christ comes
and establishes it forever. Satan and his armies will attempt
to defend their kingdom of darkness from the advance of the kingdom
of light and will be destroyed by a consuming fire! God will
once again return this kingdom to one that does not have the
knowledge of good and evil and all who love Him will dwell in
the glory of His presence!
The purpose of this guide is not to point fingers, to judge others
or a personal quest to be right at the expense of someone else.
But to sincerely and obediently share the truth as it has been
revealed to me. I will consider no person who disagrees with
this book as my enemy. My motivation is love. Love for God and
love for you. Jesus said "Watch!" It is out of this
same love and for the same reason that I appeal to your conscience
to seek the truth and not lean upon your own understanding. I
ask you not to believe me until you have searched the scriptures
yourself to see if what I have stated is true.Whatever your beliefs
about the resurrection, please study the end-time prophecies
as well as the signs and warnings Jesus gave us. If you believe
in a pre-tribulation rapture and it turns out that you are right,
then praise God! Having studied about the last days, you will
become a more effective witness and will have drawn closer to
God in the process as He speaks to you through His word. But,
if you are wrong and do not understand the signs that Jesus told
us to watch for in the last days, then you may be one of the
faithful Jesus said would fall away because they were deceived
by signs and miracles and teachings of demons.
A question I ask you
to pray about: If you believe that the church is raptured before
the rise of the antichrist and you are wrong, will you be able
to recognize him as you confidently rest in what might turn out
to be a myth? You could be in danger of believing what Scripture
calls the lie. Study the word and seek God's face. Better safe
than sorry! |
