Our world is corrupted almost beyond imagination. This is not surprising, given that Satan has been given control of the world for the time being. He has been on a leash, however, but when the “Restrainer” (the Holy Spirit) is removed all hell will break loose. We are very close to that time.

Before we discuss the coming time of tribulation, we need to make sure we are aware of a number of facts from God’s word, the Bible. First, we need to understand that the Bible, the living word of God, was not written by men, but by God Himself. It was written down by men as the Spirit directed them, and does not contain any of their own private opinions. (2 Peter 1:20,21)

Make sure that you and your children know that God (Jesus) made everything there is (John 1:3) and that the idea of macro-evolution is a complete lie. That is anti-Christ teaching. The truth that God made it all is so important that it composes the very first verse in the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

Why in the world is there so much evil, and why do bad things happen to “good” people? First of all, there are no good people in this world. “There is none good, no not one”. (Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:3, and Romans 3:12) We live in a fallen world because of the actions of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. (They “chose poorly”.) Each of us is automatically a sinner, and in need of a savior. We can’t save ourselves, as we have no righteousness of our own.

Here’s the greatest fact of all: Jesus is our escape from sinfulness and its consequences. We find in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” It’s the Great Exchange – He took our sins and gave us His “right-ness”. He did it all. There’s nothing we can do to get ourselves to heaven.

Trying to keep the Ten Commandments does not make you a better person, in fact that makes you sin more! It’s true. First, it’s “the law of sin and death” that Christ has freed us from, and “when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.” (Romans 7:5) We are no longer under the Ten Commandments. “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14) At least a dozen more verses support this.

Well, the worst is yet to come. That’s right, the most evil, most satanic, most horrible time ever in history is just around the corner. That brings up the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming. These are two different events on God’s calendar. The Second Coming occurs after the period of Great Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon when Satan is finally cast into the Lake of Fire. Jesus’ feet will touch down literally on the Mount of Olives just east of Jerusalem and the mountain will split in half. “All eyes will see him”. (Revelation 1:7) Jesus will reign from Jerusalem for one thousand years.

The Rapture is described in 1st Thessalonians 4:13-17, “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The Latin Vulgate Bible written by Jerome was “the Bible” for 1200 years until we got the King James version in English, and the the Latin version actually contained the word “rapture”.

At any rate, there is nothing more that needs to happen before the Rapture takes place. Once Israel was back in her land (1948) that was all that was necessary. When the event happens, the Holy Spirit is removed and Satan has free reign for a seven year period, the “Great Tribulation”. All who are not Christians will be left behind to deal with the extremely harsh conditions in the world, including the requirement for a “mark” on the forehead or right hand in order to buy or sell, or else have your head removed.

Many will become Christians during the Tribulation and will testify for Christ and resist getting the mark, but many will lose their heads, as described in Revelation 20:4. You want to trust Christ Jesus NOW, and not have to face that ordeal. Every single obituary you read describes a person who is either in heaven or hell for eternity. Let God’s LOVE convince you, as stated in John 3:16. Repenting is simply changing your mind about God. He is not “out to get you”, but wants to love and bless you more than you know.

As a Christian, you do not need to keep confessing your sins, because they are ALL gone, put away by Christ’s work on the cross. Don’t let 1 John 1:9 confuse you. That was written to the unsaved, letting them know that if anyone admits to God that they are a sinner and trust Him for salvation, He is faithful to cleanse that person “from all unrighteousness”. God sees fellow believers as being as righteous as Jesus himself, a gift from Him.

So, for Christians, the “best of times” is approaching, but for the unsaved the “worst of times” is around the corner. How close is it? I have suggested that you go to YouTube and check out the “Beerisheet Passover Prophecy”, which makes a very good case for the Great Tribulation beginning in the year 2023.

Blessings,

Dr. Jones