Who is writing this message? The Holy Spirit is the inspiration. I am merely writing down the flow of ideas. This message is one I have been thinking about for days and pray that it will in some small way bring those who read it closer to the Lord.
When will Jesus come to take His faithful up in the Heavens? Of course I don't know as the Bible tells us that no one will know the day or the hour. We all can know the season though. Is this the season of His coming? I believe so. Because my testimonies are on the Internet, email messages are received from many parts of the world. Lately these messages are becoming more and more urgent that Jesus will be coming soon.
So will He come in my lifetime? Although I am in my 85th year, I am 100% sure of this. Will He come in this decade, before December 2010? Yes, I am 90% sure of this. Will He come this year? Assurance drops down, but I believe there is a 70% probability. Will we see Him by the first of September? Again I don't know, but think there is a 50% chance.
Since no one knows when Jesus will come, what should we do while waiting. For some, waiting is terribly hard as Jesus is so much a part of their lives. And it is not easy for many others. They may have maladies that seem incurable and are just waiting for relief that Heaven affords. So what should we do? It is of vital importance to be READY for Him. What does it mean to be Ready? This will be covered a little later.
What will happen to those who are not Ready? The Bible is clear on this. Those who are not taken up in the clouds to join Jesus are the people left behind, left to suffer through what occurs next. They will have to endure the terrible tribulation discussed especially in the Book of Revelation. This period of seven years starts as soon as Jesus completes His mission to take His faithful to Heaven.
At first then it will seem that the big problems that have plagued our world are being solved. One man, who is now alive or who will be raised up by the devil, will come to world-wide power through his charisma. He will promise peace and prosperity. All nations will pledge loyalty to him. They will commit their military power and give their weapons to a world police force. Soon after this has been accomplished, this man will use his unlimited power to cause terrible hardship on anyone who does not worship him. Unless a person pledges their life to him and takes his sign, 666, their money will be useless. (Revelation 13:17-18) They will be unable to buy or sell anything. Remember this man then has unlimited power to enforce his demands.
Those who do not pledge to him will suffer hardship. Eventually they may be tortured and killed.
The seemingly easy thing in this tribulation will be to go along with this man. The Bible tells us that Satan has taken over his life. How did this man become possessed by Satan? We don’t know whether he accepted the devil’s promises to gain the power or it was just thrust upon him. If we pledge to him, we are accepting the devil as our master. (Revelation 13:11-13) Once this is done, there is no way out. We will spend eternity with Satan in hell. What may seem the easy course will lead to the worst possible outcome.
So those who are left behind must resist taking the mark of Satan, 666. Those who refuse to take his mark will have the mark of our Lord on their forehead or body. They will be easily distinguished for persecution. With modern means of identification, the marks of Satan may be more sophisticated such as ID chips. (Revelation 14:9-11)
The ones who are able to withstand the temptation to worship Satan may be tortured and even killed. They will end up being people that Jesus reveres. So it is imperative for a person's eternal well being to resist Satan at all costs! (Revelation 7:15,14:12-13)
During the latter part of this tribulation, great disaster will be reined upon the earth. (Revelation 16:1-6,8-10) So no one wants to be there either. Although many believe that we are already in a period of tribulation with all the disasters, we haven’t seen anything yet.
So how can we avoid going through the terrible tribulation? By accepting here and now that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Here is the way to do this as Jesus taught while He was on this earth.
The following is a quote from the book that Jesus wrote through his modern-day apostle Choo Thomas - "Heaven Is So Real". This is the book that brought me to Christ in 2004.
Jesus is the only one who can save you and forgive all your sins so that
you can have eternal life with Him. (John 14:6.) If you have never before asked
Jesus to save you, now is the time for you to do so, before it is too late.
Simply say this prayer out loud, from your heart: “Lord Jesus, I believe You are
the Son of God and You died for me. Please come into my heart, be my Lord and
Savior and forgive me of all my sins and take control of every area of my life
from this moment on. Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and use me for Your
glory. I want to serve You and love You all the days of my life. Thank You
Father, that I am now Your child, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
After this
prayer, to work out your salvation, read the Bible, pray often and go to church
to listen to God’s words and fellowship with God’s people. Your life will never
be the same; you’ll have a very happy life while on this earth and live forever
with Jesus in heaven. God bless you. (Acts 4:12, John 20:31, Matthew
7:13-14)
So that is it! It sounds easy and it is easy, but it is a step that must be taken if we are to be saved. Most of those who read this may already have done this. So this is for those who have not. Don’t wait! Since we do not know when Jesus will come, and it could be today, do it now and be Ready.
We know that Jesus’ coming in the clouds is not his “Second Coming”. That will take place soon after the end of the great tribulation. This will be the beginning of our Lord’s 1000 year rule on this earth. (Revelation 20:1-13) Possibly we could be a part of this thousand year rule on earth along with those who were killed in the great tribulation. This seems like a long period but is only a tiny part of our life forever with the Lord. He has promised that we will be extremely happy with Him and we will be used for many purposes.