Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

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ZNP

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Lamentations 2:18-22 As you have done it will be done unto you

18 The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. You walls of Daughter Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.

Wake up! Can you now appreciate the role that those walls played before they were torn down? This is the cry from the believers who are left behind after the first rapture. That first rapture “stole” the walls from Jerusalem, now you can appreciate how significant they were, but now you need to step into the breach. This reminds me of the story about Michael Jordan, he was ridiculed as being “mean” and “a bully” but once he left the Bulls the team learned how much they needed him. But his leaving forced others to step into the breach to do the jobs he had done. The Lord is taking the front row from the church so now it is time for the back row to step up.

19 Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner.

Remember those Christians who made a big deal over every little thing as though it meant that children would be dying on every street corner? You know, the ones you thought “sheesh do they really have to make such a big deal over this?” Well they are not here anymore so it is up to you now.

20 “Look, Lord, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?

Study history. If you really think this has never happened before try reading “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck, it was eye opening for me. Or read the history of the Revolutionary war about Valley Forge. Or read the history about the holocaust. If there is a priest or prophet who is not aware of this history then maybe the answer is yes, they should be killed in the sanctuary. It seems like gross negligence of their duty.

21 “Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and young women have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity.

The Lord commanded us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We all want to be treated with mercy, so this law commands us to treat others with mercy. However, the Bible also says that “as you have done it will be done to you” which James interprets as meaning “ judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.”

22 “As you summon to a feast day, so you summoned against me terrors on every side. In the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived; those I cared for and reared my enemy has destroyed.”

You allowed God’s enemy to destroy those He cared about so now you are reaping, as you have done it will be done unto you.
 

ZNP

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Deuteronomy 32:18-31 You deserted the Rock who fathered you

Lamentations is the fulfillment of what God said He would do in Deuteronomy.

18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters.

We are not talking about the world, this happened with the church. If the church is walking right with the Lord they will be a blessing to the nations. Satan cannot have his way unless the church deserts the rock of our salvation.

20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.

Please pay attention to the sequence. First God’s people deserted the rock and forgot God. Then God hid His face from them. This is how you become “dead Christianity”. This is the apostasy described with the church in Sardis.

21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.

Beautiful symmetry in the judgement. You make God jealous by what is not a God and He will make you envious by what is not a people. You anger God with worthless idols and He will anger you with a nation that has no understanding. What is terrorism if not God angering us with a nation that has no understanding. Think about the Palestinians, the very first peace treaty offered them everything they are now seeking, but they rejected it. Since then every peace treaty offers less and less. They are truly without understanding and every time they start an uprising it just makes them poorer and more desolate.

22 For a fire will be kindled by my wrath, one that burns down to the realm of the dead below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains.

This is what we see in Lamentations. There is a long history of blood guiltiness that they will be held accountable for. This fire will not just eat up the harvests from one year, it will burn down to the foundations of all the powers that be. It is prophecies like this one, and there are many like this, that have me concluding the investigation into election fraud will set fire to the foundation of Democracy in the US. Initially it might have been about Trump, but now it is clearly far wider and bigger than that. Trump won every single county in Oklahoma and yet they are calling for forensic audits there, it isn’t about the presidential election, they are coming for every crook (city, state and federal).

23 “I will heap calamities on them and spend my arrows against them.

Everytime something else is revealed about the Hunter Biden laptop it is like an arrow from God. Revealing sins not just of Biden or the CCP but of the DOJ, the FBI, and all the deep state players. This is going to 9/11, the Mortgage crisis, Pedophile rings, human trafficking, and on and on.

24 I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.

Look at South Africa and Cuba, they have famine, look at the world they have consuming pestilence. Initially they may have thought the pestilence would help unseat Trump and help them mandate the vaccine. However, the UK, the most vaccinated country in the world, is now seeing a very significant spike in cases. It is a consuming pestilence that will consume this satanic world. Look at the smash and grab thieves plaguing our cities. These things are a fulfillment of this word.

25 In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. The young men and young women will perish, the infants and those with gray hair.

Every day the news terrifies people to the point they are afraid to leave the house, in the streets the violence is astounding. The people killed on the streets of Chicago were far greater than the people killed in Afghanistan during a war. Afghanistan was a war zone, Chicago by comparison was a battlefield. We call the mainstream news "fear porn". Everyday trying to make terror reign in the homes.

26 I said I would scatter them and erase their name from human memory, 27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.’” 28 They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them.

How stupid do you have to be? This apostasy from God took place after WWII, after seeing everything God had said He would do to Israel be fulfilled. They are senseless.

29 If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be!

If only they read the book of James! If you lack wisdom pray and ask God for it.

30 How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?

Our victories up through WWII were amazing. Compare them with recent times and what a dismal failure. Leaving Afghanistan with our tails between our legs, Korea is a stalemate, Vietnam is another defeat. After WWII we were arrogant and since then we have had a very big fall.

31 For their rock is not like our Rock,
as even our enemies concede.

There was a time after WWII when the whole world conceded this.
 

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Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven


Genesis 37:7 for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

This is the first mention of bind in the Bible. The believers are sheaves, "binding sheaves together" indicates that we are all one. This should be our prayer that the believers would all be bound together as one.

Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; He hath washed his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes:

This should also be our prayer, the our "foal" would be bound to the vine. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, apart from Him we can do nothing. So then pray that you would be bound to the vine.

Exodus 28:28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be upon the skilfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.

The breastplate and the ephod are the priestly garments by which we appear before the Lord and receive God's speaking. We need to bind our breastplate which defends us from the fiery darts of the evil one to the ephod which is how we receive God's instant speaking.

Exodus 29:9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and bind head-tires on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

This is more of the priestly garments that we need to bind on us. Pray that the head tire, and the ephod and the breastplate would all be bound on you so that you could function as a priest.

Numbers 30:2 When a man voweth a vow unto Jehovah, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.


You can bind your soul to the Lord with a vow.

Deuteronomy 11:18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.

You were to bind the word of God as frontlets between your eyes. The word that God has given you in your heart and in your soul.

Psalm 149:8 To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;

Yes, we can bind kings with chains, but this verse doesn't show up until all the other verses. First you need the word, the priesthood, you must be consecrated, you need the body, you need to be attached to the vine.

Proverbs 3:3 Let not kindness and truth forsake thee: Bind them about thy neck; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart:

How do we bind kings and nobles? We bind them with kindness and truth. If you are a hothead smashing windows and screaming curse words it is easy for these kings and nobles to throw you into prison. But if you have bound kindness and truth to you it looks criminal. Think of Rosa Parks, she had both kindness and truth bound to her so when they arrested her they looked like slime. Think of Gandhi, he had kindness and truth bound to him so the British could do nothing.

Matthew 12:29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

This is what Gandhi did. He entered the house of the British, bound them with kindness and truth and ultimately he spoiled their goods.

Matthew 16:19 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
 

ZNP

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Deuteronomy 32:32-41 The Lord will repay

32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness.

That might have seemed like a overly biased assessment fifty years ago, but not today. They have fully revealed their source is Sodom and Gomorrah. Their grapes are now well known to be filled with poison and bitterness. We learned they are putting pornographic books into the library at Elementary schools and they are working to recruit and indoctrinate kids to change genders. When parents were upset with this they put the DOJ on them calling the parents terrorists. They opened the girls bathroom to boys and when the boys raped the girls they covered it up and hid it.

33 Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.

Just listen to them speak, it is the venom of serpents. A representative of the school board talking about parents who were against Critical Race Theory said publicly “let them all die”. A government minister watching mobs burn down churches in Canada said “burn them all to the ground”.

34 “Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults? 35 It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”

This is God’s plan, pay attention.

36 The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. 37 He will say: “Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, 38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter!

This is how you learn your mistake. You thought the government would provide you shelter, you paid them tax year after year thinking when it is time they will have my back. Well guess what, Social Security has been completely emptied out by thieves but that is not a problem, they have a solution, if you can kill off all the retired people then Social Security will be back in the black. I was a teacher, I paid union dues out of every paycheck. Then when DeBlasio mandated the vaccine for all Teachers by September 27th guess what, the union would not take anyone's call to help them retire. I had to do the process myself, it is complicated, it is difficult, a major "benefit" of the union is that they help you with this process, but no, it was all a scam.

39 “See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.

God’s plan of salvation is that we would all see “there is no God besides our God”. The sooner you see that the better.

40 I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, 41 when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.

For years we have seen many who hate the Lord, they are very open about it. They mock, ridicule, slander, and defame. Be assured they will be repaid in full.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”

There are too many to know everyone by face, but at least the heads like Biden, Harris, Clinton, Obama, Zuckerberg, Soros, etc.

43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.

Judgement is a time of rejoicing. It is very strange to me that people are not rejoicing over this coming judgement. I love that it is slowly coming like the walls are closing in on them. I love that it is slowly coming so that people can choose to confess their sins and become a witness rather than suffer the same judgement. I love that the heads see this judgement coming, they know people are flipping, and there is nothing they can do about it. I love that all those who have been the victims of these crimes have not been forgotten. I love that it is God that does this, that we can be meek and be blessed by simply obeying the Lord. Most of all I love that when all this is done we will be one with God, that He will make an atonement for His land and His people.
 

ZNP

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Luke 19:1-11 -- The People sought to destroy Him

1 And he entered and was passing through Jericho. 2 And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran on before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He is gone in to lodge with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, To-day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Many people are asking what it is that these protesters want. They want justice. But what law needs to change? They want police fired, suspending them is a “slap in the face”. So according to that the way to rectify injustice is to deny a fair trial to the police? The mayor of Rochester was extremely sympathetic to their calls, yet explained that there is a process. In this country you are innocent until proven guilty. Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian dissident, author and columnist for the Washington Post. He was assassinated in October of 2018 and only today, almost a full two years later, the sentences are being handed down in the case. The idea that the mob sees a video of some terrible event, riots, loots, and the next day the court is going to pass sentence is not justice. Contrast this with Jesus' mission to “seek and save that which was lost”. No one has presented a path for salvation with these protests. The only consistent message being given is to get people fired based on mob rule. If that is your goal, to destroy them, then their only option is to fight you. Nelson Mandela understood this and he gave people a path to salvation. Gandhi also did, the path to salvation for the British was to pack up and leave.
 

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Luke 24:1-26 -- "It will all work out in the end"

1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

What is the point? If He is resurrected they’ll find out, it will all work out in the end. What is the point of anointing His body with spices 3 days after the crucifixion? I hear that very often from Christians when we discuss the Lord’s second coming. “It will all work out in the end”. Don’t you want to just tell these sisters, “hey, don’t worry about it, it will all work out in the end”? I didn’t think so.

2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Others say “we cannot know the day nor the hour”. There have been 1,000 interpretations, etc. But the words were spoken, they were there in the Bible, all you had to do was believe and seek and you would have found them. This is a word to us, He has given the word already, we need to remember what He said.

8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

Idle tales, this is the way too many are taking the word on the rapture, they feel it is simply an idle tale. These weren’t backsliders or lukewarm Christians, these were the apostles!

12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

There was a reward for Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James to discover the resurrection. There was a reward to Peter.

13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener and these two also did not recognize Him at first. I suspect this is the resurrected Jesus being very playful. The harder I look and rack my brain trying to remember the words spoken the more I feel like Jesus is playing with us.

17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

Right now all these political leaders in Washington are so self important, thinking they are so powerful. I suspect that after the rapture of the saints will anyone really think that? I think they are headed for a terrible crash. One day you are rich, powerful, you can do whatever you wish and ignore everyone else. The next day you are Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole in the ground.

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

If Jesus was five years old He would have been totally loving this. How great is this! How does He keep a straight face?

25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

Fools and slow of heart to believe. I think that is what Jesus will say to all those with the “it will all pan out in the end” doctrine. How can you take such a lackadaisical attitude towards Christ’s return?
 

ZNP

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I recently saw a youtube video of a preacher who was telling people to preach the gospel because it will be when the last person is saved that the Lord will come back. This teaching misaims. Let's see what the Lord really says in His word:

Mark 13:10 and the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.

We preach the gospel for a testimony to all the nations. Yes it is the gospel of salvation, and yes some will receive it and be saved, that is true. But in my experience for every person that prays with you to receive the Lord ten people will reject you. That doesn't mean that I failed more than 90% of the time.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him

It is not up to you who will receive the gospel and who won't. This is a great freedom. There were a couple of years when I was in college that I preached the gospel every day with a few other brothers. Every week we had 2-3 people who had prayed with us that week. But we may have given out more than 100 tracts, we may have had 20 or 30 people reject us as well as fifty of our tracts ending up in the garbage. If you are judging your gospel by how many are saved you can become very discouraged, But it doesn't matter saved or not, that gospel was a testimony to them.

The Lord said John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.

All I have to do is lift up the Lord, the father and son will do the rest. Every person has their own strategy with dealing with God. Some people try to look scary and terrifying like the guy in the tombs with a legion of demons, you would never think they would get saved but believe me, when you preach to them they are impressed. It is as though they put up that front to scare away all the phony gospel preachers.

When someone rejects the gospel to me it is like a bug splattering on my windshield. It doesn't slow me down in the slightest and to them it is proof of the coming judgement. Christianity makes a big mistake in trying to draw in a crowd, draw people to the Lord. You can't do it, so stop trying. What you can do is to lift up the Lord. We are the Lord's witnesses, if people reject that witness they will bring judgement on themselves, however, if you don't witness you will bring judgement on yourself. So to my feeling it didn't matter if someone rejected the gospel, I always had a sense of peace ("phew, your judgement is on your own head, not mine").

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
 

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Luke 24:27-53 He's Back!

27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

This is very clearly a game of hide and seek. No other way to describe it. Unless you want to call it a game of peekaboo. Also there is a secret here. The sisters were told to remember what He said to you, but here when He speaks He goes over the entire revelation of scripture. This is the way the Bible is, here a little and there a little. It is like one of these massive jigsaw puzzles, there is no single piece that is the “silver bullet”. Rather you can’t see the forest because of all the trees. When you put all the pieces together what do you see? Our Father is in Heaven, we His redeemed hallow His name, and we are praying that His kingdom would come and His will would be done. The world is ruled by Satan and it was necessary that Jesus and Satan would face off at the cross. Death versus life.

32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? 33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

All of these people are seeking Jesus, looking for Him, trying to find Him. Yet in each case He tells them He was hidden in the word of God. If you had not been foolish and slow of heart you would have found Him sooner.

35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Wherever two or three are gathered together into My name there am I in their midst.

37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

The Lord is manifested in fellowship with one another and in the breaking of bread, sharing our testimonies, and ministering the word.

44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

The Lord has risen from the dead, what is at the top of His agenda? Opening the understanding of the disciples that they might understand the scriptures. Mix your personal experience with the word of God and prayer.

46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

There was a purpose to everything He went through. You don’t just learn the facts concerning when the Lord is going to be resurrected, you also learn the purpose.

48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

Then you learn your purpose. An apostle is a “sent one”, someone who has been sent from the Lord with a message. Their message is that they have witnessed the resurrection. Their message is to open the understanding of the saints to see Jesus in the word of God. If you take this attitude “I’ll find out in the end so no reason to bother with it now” then you can’t be sent. You have effectively nullified the grace of God.

49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Up till now I think very few saints (other than Paul) have fully appreciated the power endued to the church from on high.

50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
 

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Lamentations 3 The School of Hard knocks

1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.

We call this the school of hard knocks.

2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;

The light exposes and having your shortcoming exposed is not pleasant. So many will reject the light. But then when you have been forced to walk in darkness rather than the light, you soon appreciate the light. You appreciate the rebuking word because at least you are now getting a word.

3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.


To me this is like sailing a boat. When you are watching someone who knows how to sail it looks so simple, like anyone could do it. But then when you are the one sailing it is amazing how quickly things can go from just fine to where everything is messed up and then the boat capsizes. But I don’t think analogies are going to work, if you are in this situation you are going to need a much clearer word because obviously you wouldn’t listen to instruction before.

For example, the rule that I grew up with was this, if a president is running for reelection for a second term you ask two questions: did he get us into war and is the economy doing well? If the answer is no and yes, in that order, then you vote for them. Doesn’t matter what party they are or if you can’t stand them. Now obviously signing peace treaties worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize would be a plus, developing a vaccine for a worldwide pandemic in record time (called miraculous) would also be a plus. But we don’t require that, all that is extra. We used to also say that “you judge a person by their enemies”. If evil, lying, hypocrites hate them then that is a good thing, not a bad thing. But many people ignored these rules, in fact they ignored a lot. I would say that was the first mistake.

4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones.


Another thing we used to say was “where there is smoke, there is fire”. Obviously for the last four years with Trump there was a lot of smoke, so it is safe to assume there was fire. But who was the cause? I was very happy that Mueller was investigating him, I had no issue with the $40 million being spent, and my attitude was “I want to know the result”. You see, I knew there was fire, what I didn’t know was who started the fire. To my surprise it was started by Hillary Clinton’s campaign colluding illegally with the FBI and Obama authorizing them to spy on the Trump campaign. The scandal was bigger than Watergate and yet the mainstream media didn’t care. That is the second mistake, the American people let the mainstream media and the deep state get away with that. It was inexcusable. A good captain on a sailing boat sees those signals and responds immediately, that is why it looks easy.

5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.


But then Americans justified censorship and the Cancel culture. Injustice for one is injustice for all. You cannot say you are for the freedom of speech, but only for speech I agree with. That is the same thing as not being for freedom of speech. But you approved it or at the very least you winked at it, and now you are surrounded by it. Bitterness and hardship. Right now CRT seems to be focused on “Whites” so how will that cause hardship for people of color. 50% of this country is “white” what happens if 50% are no longer employed? That restaurant you used to like so much is closed, there are far fewer cops and rampant violence in the streets, you go to the doctor and you have to wait weeks to get an appointment, you run a business and now you just lost 60% of your customer base, etc. I heard that public school enrollment is down by double digits! Maybe you were a new teacher or para and so they have to let you go. If we are one body, how could you lose 50% of your body and not be surrounded with bitterness and hardship. This works both ways.

6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.


This may be new to the US, there are countries that have experience this for many years. There is a woman at my job that grew up in Romania when it was run by a dictator, the things we are seeing here are very similar to what happened in East Germany after the war, Cubans have seen this for many years. We have a collective wisdom, we don’t have to go down the same paths others have gone down, we can ask them where this path leads first. Some of the most ardent supporters of the former president were hispanic and chinese because they had prior experience.

7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.


Look at the chains Biden is placing on us. He is writing checks for trillions of dollars that the Americans will have to pay. He is systematically shutting down our production of oil and gas resulting in dramatic inflation.

8 Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.


Don’t blame God, he is censoring your prayer, you were the one that thought it was OK for private companies to censor people. Sure they were working at the behest of the Biden administration and sure they had been given protections we only give to utilities, but hey it is OK because I don’t want to hear what they have to say. Well, now God doesn’t want to hear what you have to say.

9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked.


Recently the Whitehouse responded to questions about Hunter Biden making $500,000 for some painting by saying this Whitehouse is the most ethical in human history! If you try to get to the bottom of the fraud and corruption your path is barred with blocks of stone. The FBI had Hunter Biden’s laptop for a year and did nothing. They blocked the investigation. Maricopa county has subpoenaed the routers used in the election several times and are being stonewalled. The whole country, regardless of party should be outraged at these actions, but many want to ignore it because of party affiliation. Well you can be sure you will reap what you sowed.

10 Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding,

11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help.

I have seen some stunning youtube videos of violence on US streets. But what happened a year ago, violent riots were portrayed as “mostly peaceful”, looting was simply called “reparations” and everyone feigned outrage that Trump would send the National Guard to help. You were the bear and the lion that was willing to mangle US cities so you could win the election, you can be sure you will reap what you sow.

12 He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.

Can we please be honest here? You drew your bow and made Trump the target for your arrows for four years. You are reaping what you sowed. This is not about one party or another, or one man or another. It is about justice, truth, hypocrisy, and corruption. A Mueller investigation (who we now know was tied to some Clinton murders) and two impeachment trials, one after Trump left office. We have another saying “what is good for the goose is good for the gander”.
 

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There is interesting information in here

 

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Lamentations 3 -- Comforting others with the comfort with which we have been comforted

13 He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. 14 I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all day long.

They did a wonderful job of mocking Donald Trump, this one woman would do these videos lip syncing to Trump speaking, they were hilarious. So my guess is you are reaping what you have sowed. When you were mocking others it was hilarious, now that you are being mocked you want sympathy? How about empathy, how about confessing your sins, repenting of your sins, and having empathy for others. When you walk by faith and not by sight you will always be in the minority and they will mock and ridicule you. A month ago I went to the Camping supply store and bought HCQ (they sell it to purify water for hikers and campers). Everyone who found out ridiculed me. Then this week my wife, my son and I all got Omicron after being exposed to a kid who tested positive. We drank the HCQ and the next day all three of us felt significantly better. All of a sudden they are not mocking anymore.

15 He has filled me with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink. 16 He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust.

I watched a video of four body behavior experts breaking down an interview with Jon Benet’s brother. This kid was 9 years old when she was murdered and is on the spectrum for autism. For 20 years he has been given gall to drink as people make fun of him and accuse him of a crime he didn’t do. They trampled this kid into the dust. So again, instead of sympathy, how about empathy? How about you confess your sins, repent of them, turn to the Lord and learn to love your neighbor as yourself. Because it is really clear that you love yourself.

17 I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.

We all know that when the paparazzi are on your trail there is no peace, who cares if you are “prosperous”, you have to hide in your house, wear disguises when you go out, etc. We have seen them destroy people just because it would boost their ratings. This is now what they want to do to all the "unvaccinated".

18 So I say, “My splendor is gone and all tha t I had hoped from the Lord.” 19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

This is good, this isn’t a bad thing. “Your splendor is gone” that is a good thing. Your pride, your arrogance, your egotism, your narcissism. You “well remember” again that is a good thing, this is how you get empathy for others. Your soul is downcast, sounds like you are actually ready to let the Lord in and let Him take charge.

21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

Where did you read that, the Bible? This looks good, it reminds me of the Terminator after you thought the other terminator killed him and then the little red light pops on. You had to get this broken before you would open up to the word of God, get on your knees and hold onto one of the promises of God.

23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

That’s right, you used to look on those you thought were deplorable, and now you are one, and yet there is the Lord, great is His faithfulness. Not your faithfulness but His. These are the precious lessons we get when we have the fellowship of His sufferings. This is why the Lord said the only way would be if we took up our cross and followed Him.

24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

What is going on with this guy, now he is quoting Bible verses with every breath. This reminds me of Peter saying “you have the words of life, to whom would we go?”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

Seriously? He has gone from crying about the injustice done to him to opening up to the Lord to receive His word to now comforting others with the comfort with which he has been comforted. Go back and reread the word, it was a terrible fall that was the foundation of Peter’s ministry, likewise with Paul, and with James, and with Mark.
 

ZNP

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Stunning, absolutely stunning
 

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Two different worlds

Luke 17:26 And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

This is a very strange verse, so strange in fact that I am surprised atheists haven't jumped on the apparent contradiction. Here is the paradox, the Bible is filled with signs and wonders that will take place at the end of the age, so much so that terms like "Biblical" and "apocalyptic" are known by all to mean cataclysmic events that are extremely rare. Joel talks about a worldwide pandemic that shuts down the economy even getting into palaces and king's houses, Revelation talks about a "mark" that you have to receive on your body that allows you to buy and sell, and these aren't even the wildest prophecies. One prophecy says that Israel would be formed into a nation again in one day after close to 2,000 years being scattered to the four winds. There are prophecies concerning the holocaust, and concerning world wars, and rumor of wars, and then there are prophecies saying the whole world would be focused on the Middle East (seemed absurd even 100 years ago). We also have prophecies concerning natural calamities and when I see what is happening around the world in just one week it is utterly amazing. There is even a prophecy that "Jerusalem" would be surrounded by soldiers prior to the tribulation starting. I think that refers to Washington, because there are other prophecies that describe Jerusalem being surrounded with soldiers from every nation at the middle of the tribulation. Can you see how ridiculous it is that all these things could be going on and people would be going about their business completely unaware that in a week or two a flood would come and destroy them? It doesn't make sense, how?

But then I noticed something. Last year many news stations were characterizing the fires in California as "Biblical" or "Apocalyptic" and yet this year by all measures they are 40 times worse. The extent of the area at risk of fire is 40 times larger, the extent and severity of the drought is 40 times worse, the amount of fires and size of fires compared to the same time last year is 40 times worse. So what word do they use now? They don't either they are completely silent or they take a minimalist approach, where they will reference them in a way that makes it sound routine, happens every year, etc. This way if anyone asks you "did you see the fires" you are like "oh yeah, happens every year".

The verse is describing two different worlds, those who are paying attention to what is going on and see the day approaching, and those who have been sung to sleep by the mainstream media with stories about the Kardashians.
 

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Lamentations 3 -- The cross of Christ, foolishness to the 1% but to us it is the wisdom of God

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. 28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him.

This is the protestant ethic. There is another strategy that is employed by the richest on every continent, the 1%. They grow up together, go to private clubs, eat at private restaurants and are taught to know who is who among the 1%. Then you hire, promote, or in some way advance the business fortunes of others in the 1%. This is why a CEO can drive one company into the ground and they are made the CEO of another company. They are not worried about the company going bankrupt as long as the CEO alerted them in time to make a killing on the failing company.

29 Let him bury his face in the dust— there may yet be hope. 30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace.

This also is the Biblical concept of take up your cross and follow the Lord. Once again it is contrary to the concept of the 1%. The fundamental strategy is to play both sides so regardless of who wins you win. This is why Ford and Bush and Rockefeller supported the Nazis in Germany. They sold tanks and jeeps and guns and oil to both sides. You might think this is foolish because when the Germans lose they won’t pay and you wil lose money. They thought of that and so they put together the concentration camps stealing gold, wealth, and houses from those 11 million they gassed. When it became clear they were going to lose they then smuggled that gold out of the country through the Catholic church.

31 For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

Wow, well that takes faith. Here is the difference between these two strategies, a great many of the 99% believe God will judge and they therefore live with the coming judgement in mind. The 1% consider the 99% are stupid fools and if there were no God and no coming judgement they would be correct, unfortunately for them when they do appear before the judgement seat of God their wisdom will become foolishness. It is a great revelation to learn that the cross of Christ is the wisdom of God and that the foolishness of God is wiser than any of the 1%.

33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone. 34 To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, 35 to deny people their rights before the Most High, 36 to deprive them of justice— would not the Lord see such things?

How do you reconcile verses like this with the Holocaust? They most certainly did choose to bring affliction and grief to millions, they very clearly crushed the prisoners of the land, they denied people their rights, but not before the most high. That is the key point. When we appear before the judgement of God then they will get justice. These acts reveal how evil some people are and how some have the righteousness that comes from faith.

37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?

Jesus is Lord! That is the key to salvation. That is the most important revelation, everything else is foolishness with God.

38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?

Do you think the Holocaust could have happened without God allowing it? The enemy meant it for evil but what was the outcome? Jews the world over realized they needed to stand together as a community, they needed to return to Israel. The world was confronted with this crime, was disgusted and ashamed, and this led to Israel being reformed even though this very evil 1% still wanted to wipe them out. The biggest problem that the 1% see is faith, men of faith. This is why they attack the church and attack the Jews.

39 Why should the living complain when punished for their sins?

And in this way we are trained. If someone is being punished for their sins do not let them complain, yes they may only be 40% responsible, but that was the part they could control, that is the part they must confess and repent of. The 1% assumes everyone is just as sinful as them, if you stand up to them to reveal their sins they assume they can discredit you and shred your credibility long before you can do them any real harm.

40 Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the Lord.

This is the lesson to take from calamity. Let me examine my ways, figure out what I could have done differently, what I should have done differently and see what were the warning signs that I ignored. God warned me, I ignored Him, calamity came.
 

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Proverbs 16:1-9 -- Better is a little with righteousness

To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

We see this all the time in sports. You have a strategy, a plan for the game, but then something happens to disrupt those plans, how do you respond. In game six of the NBA finals between Chicago and Utah Scottie Pippen, a key player was seriously hurt at the start of the game. Nobody plans for this but now, how do you respond? The other players rose to the challenge and Chicago win’s the game and the series in the final seconds of the game. First there was a jump ball which if Utah wins they could go up by 5 and all but put away the game, but Chicago wins the jump, goes down and ties the game. Then Utah has the ball which if they score they either win or send it into overtime, but Michael Jordan steals the ball from Moses Malone. Finally, Jordan takes the ball down and scores on the last shot of the game. With Pippen getting hurt from the start Jordan had to work twice as hard the whole game and still had something left at the end for those three key plays. That was a proper response, from God. Mike Tyson said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.

Isn’t it incredible how people can justify anything they do because “their motive is right”? Recently the news was outraged that a “Trump caravan” that was armed surrounded a Biden bus and escorted it out of Texas. During this time it was claimed that Trump supporters tried to run Biden staffers off the road. When you actually saw the whole video it is possible that these trucks did have shotguns in them, that is typical in Texas, but guns were never part of the story in any way. Second, it is true that one car tried to side swipe another and run it off the road, but it was the Biden staffer trying to run the Trump supporter off and not the other way around. I heard about this from someone who was outraged at how terrible these Trump supporters were so we watched the video and they could see the media had completely lied to them. But even then they tried to defend the car sideswiping the truck because “why does that pickup truck have to drive right behind the bus”? What’s next, ‘why do those people have the right to breathe’?

3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. 4 The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.


So let’s focus on what Jesus is doing. I think it is clear that the Lord has committed to God all of His plans. It is also clear that God is going to establish those plans, He will work out everything to its proper end, even the wicked for a day of disaster. What is the proper end? They need to separate out the wheat from the tares. The wheat is for the barn, the tares are for the fire. They need to separate out the fish from the net, the good fish go to the wedding banquet, the rest get thrown out. This needs to be done in a way that is not only clear to God, clear to the angels, but even clear to us. If someone is raptured and someone else isn’t it needs to be clear why. The rapture is our "day of redemption", but for the wicked it is the "day of disaster". Why? When the Israeli's left Egypt it was Egypt's day of disaster, they lost all their slaves! The people who were despised and treated as the lowest of the low were actually the foundation of the economy. Without them the whole economy collapses into a heap.

5 The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.


In this election we see the proud of heart on full display. To censor news about Biden but not about Trump demonstrates your pride. Their polls were shown to be atrocious if the purpose was to reflect the electorate. However, if the purpose was to affect the election it shows how proud they are to think they can ignore the will of the people and manipulate them as though they were that gullible. Why is it that 44 states can get their results in quickly, but the 6 key states for Trump with Democratic governors can’t? Why is it so hard for them to count votes? It is one thing to be incompetent, it is another to think that you can simply steal an election. That is pride and arrogance. I have been watching a documentary on Hitler and he epitomizes the proud of heart. He only got 2.6% of the vote yet refused to be anything but Chancellor. He rolls into Austria and Czechoslovakia to the adulation of crowds throwing flowers. He takes over Poland in six weeks with the help of Russia. Then he conquers France in even less time than that. People were calling him the greatest military genius in history. They were calling him the bloodless general. These things made him proud in heart. He refused to listen to anyone else's advice. The former military chief of staff had said that if he pursued this course he might win the battle but he would lose the war. It would become a world war. He had to leave in disgrace, but we now know he was right. Because of Hitler's naivety he allowed the British to escape at Dunkirk, instead of being "the greatest military genius" he was actually the reason they didn't conquer Europe. But because of pride he had to top himself, so he turned his army towards Russia and his downfall began.

6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.


There is a lot of sin that needs to be atoned for in this country. What we are lacking is love and faithfulness, that is why we are seeing so much evil. We could have avoided this if we had feared the Lord but for the last 50 years or more you can see no fear of the Lord.

7 When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter. Why is there no peace in this country? It is because the Lord does not take pleasure in these ways. He doesn’t take pleasure in the way the Supreme court usurped the constitution to force abortion to be legalized in every state. He doesn’t take pleasure in the things that are being taught to children in schools. He doesn’t take pleasure in the things that are not being taught to children, like the fear of God.

8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.


Some people see this lockdown as God’s judgement on the schools. The things that are being force fed to kids in the schools was abhorrent so God intervened. It is better to be homeschooled, even if in many ways it is less than what we had with the schools if we have this education with righteousness. I can definitely see a future where schools can be run by the church. The public school teachers can still provide online lessons in various topics, but instead of each kid staying at home, they can go to the church with twenty other kids. Parents can go to work while also controlling the curriculum and their kids can be taught in a humble school but with righteousness.

9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

This is a repeat from verse 1. How does the Lord establish your steps? How was Michael Jordan able to rise to the challenge when Pippen got hurt? You train twice as hard as you think you have to. You don’t cede authority to evil worldly authorities, rather better is a little with righteousness. Through love and faithfulness you atone for sins. You commit your ways to the Lord, you fear God. You purge your heart of pride. And you believe that the Lord will work everything to its proper end, including the day of disaster for the wicked. That game that I mentioned was the last championship game that Jordan won, his sixth. It crowned an already spectacular career. It was a proper end.