Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Spirit of Nero is the Spirit of the Antichrist part 2

Everything so far is pretty bad, it is Hitler level, but Nero got worse. The sane people saw Nero as someone who needed to go, but sadly Nero realized this before they could act and his paranoia knew no limits. Monkey trials, summary executions, black lists the size of telephone books. That put him on Stalin's level, but still it got worse. He murdered his 2nd wife and went into Norman Bates territory having her body stuffed so he could visit it and then finding a 13 year old boy that looked like her, forcing him to wear her clothes, castrating the boy, and then marrying him.

When you look at Nero you see a boy raised up in the theater in a world of intrigue, betrayal and murder. He has no inclination to be a ruler but he does understand the theater and how to take any event and turn it into a story that makes him the hero. At first he is liked quite a bit (so far resembles Hitler). But then he shows a true talent at intrigue and turns into a megalomaniac with the most evil wisdom. As the blood guiltiness grows and grows so does his paranoia and mental collapse. You could say he has become completely demon possessed.

But then he is killed and that spirit can cook slowly in the fires of hell for two thousand years before entering into the resuscitated antichrist after suffering a head wound.
 
2Samuel 4 We will live or die with the choices we make

Why is this called 2 Samuel? Samuel died before any of the events in this book take place. These two books, which form a bridge from the priesthood to the kingship, are in two parts. You have the Saul part and the David part. Everyone makes this same mistake so God in his wisdom presented the error with Saul which takes us from doing what is right in our own mind all the way to the bitter end of that choice. It then shows us God’s choice. In fact these two books present one choice after the next. How do you react under pressure and how do you choose when so much is on the line? How do you choose a king? What do you do when all those following you are leaving? Where do you go when staying in Israel means you will ultimately die? These two books present to us the two choices by Samuel, one according to the flesh the other according to the Spirit. We will often have very valid justifications for our choice: Saul is taller, bigger, faster, stronger than anyone else. It is so natural, so easy to choose based on that. For example, every football team will draft players each year. Their ability to select the right person determines their success or failure. I was very impressed by something that Brett Favre said concerning Tom Brady. Tom is not the fastest quarterback by a long shot and he doesn’t have the strongest arm. So what is it that makes him the greatest quarterback of all time? Doesn’t make sense? First, he is the most accurate. Every quarterback in the NFL can throw an accurate football, but to do it consistently day in, day out, throughout your career under every condition, that requires diligence and attention to detail. Second, he is “elusive”. He can’t outrun the defensive linemen but he can sidestep. Most quarterbacks will get “flushed” out of the pocket when they feel pressure, instead he sidesteps and then continues about his business of finding the open man. Third, like Joe Montana, he is “mr. Cool”, doesn’t get anxious or down. He was down by 19 points in the Super Bowl to Atlanta in the fourth quarter. His response was that it was very hot that day and he figured the defense would get tired. He is always seeing some sliver of hope. Here is what impressed me about this. Every coach will preach discipline and practice, every coach will tell quarterbacks to sidestep pressure and to stay in the pocket. Brady listened and obeyed. All the other quarterbacks who had a good chance to outrun defensive linemen didn’t. Not only so but you can see “superstar” quarterbacks down by three scores in the fourth quarter throwing in the towel. They don’t have faith. There were several things that happened in that Atlanta game that were beyond Brady’s control. Faith is not just in your ability but in your teammates and in God. But listening and obeying, that is critical. Having faith, that is critical. These should be at the top of the NFL’s scouting list of qualities to look for. Disobedience is an expression of unbelief.

The second big point is what does this mean, “to go back to your roots”? Why is Hebron where Abraham buried his dead the place to return to? Abraham was the father of faith, he was also the father of Isaac. To be a father is not simply a result of biology but also because of lessons he passed on to his son. He taught Isaac faith. When he sacrificed Isaac on the mountaintop he taught Isaac that we must have faith in God even if that means death in us. We must be willing to put our dreams, hopes, and everything we have on the altar to God. This is what we see David do time and time again. His dream and his hope was to be king of Israel, how do you go and live with the Philistines? Well in truth he lived in Ziklag which was part of Israel’s inheritance given to them by God but which they had given over to the Philistines. Think of this election in Virginia, education is part of our inheritance and yet we had given it to the leftists and communists. How do you support the men following you? David did what God had commanded the king to do, he utterly destroyed the Amalekites. He didn’t get any glory for this, instead he was despised as a deplorable. To be faithful to God is far more important than to give big “sacrifices” to God, big parties where everyone can come and see how great David is. Why is it that everyone else is wrong, Saul is wrong, Abner is wrong, Joab is wrong, Ish-Bosheth is wrong, Israel is wrong but only David is right? David is taking the path that leads to life because he is following the lesson of Abraham to put everything on the altar. His future, his being king, his pride are all on the altar. He does not dare to lift a hand against God’s anointed. Why not? It would be self defense. Because if you are a living sacrifice to God you don’t need “self defense”. If you belong to God then God will respond if someone tries to kill or damage you, likewise since Saul belongs to God David has no standing to lift a hand against him.

1 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.

4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

Wow, look at the arrogance. “This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king”. Really, it was the Lord who murdered and beheaded him?

9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”

An innocent man? Really? He doesn’t mean in a theological sense. We have already learned that Ish-Bosheth is corrupt enough to cause Abner to leave. Many people will justify their actions because “he deserved it”. Not that he was found guilty in a court of law, but he is basically a bad person. The “never Trumpers” are like this. They don’t take issue with his pro life judges, they don’t have an issue with the improvement to the economy or the fact that he didn’t get us into any wars, or even the peace treaty he brokered with Israel. No, it is because some of the things he has said proves to them that he is a bad man. In any court of law those quotes would have been inadmissible because they were irrelevant. But now people want to justify all sorts of crimes like censorship and tyranny because of these things.

12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

Your hands and your feet need to be fully under the Lord’s leading. There can be no compromise. That is what it means to be a king. Abner is in the tomb because he chose Ish-Bosheth as head rather than the Lord.

I heard one person answer the question “what does Tom Brady winning the Super Bowl in Tampa do to Bill Belechik’s legacy?” He said that it doesn’t do very much to his legacy as a coach. He is still a great defensive coordinator and a great coach. But it does a lot to his legacy as a General Manager. The damage done to Belechik is not about his ability on the battle field as a strategist and tactician. No, the damage done is on his ability to choose who should head his team. People remember what you did last the most. Can you imagine if Belechik never wins another Super Bowl? His record without Brady as quarterback could wind up below .500. This will become a permanent mark on his legacy. Second of all, how much will this affect the team's trust in his ability to act as GM?
 
Exodus 12:31-49 We leave as a conquering Army

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”

Remember this, we didn’t leave with our tails between our legs, we didn’t flee like criminals, we marched out as a victorious army led by God. We warned Pharaoh, he refused to listen, he paid the price for that arrogance. Many Christians right now are watching intently for the Lord's coming, looking at the signs. This to me is the big sign, we conquer Pharaoh and the worldly system and then leave (raptured) as a conquering army just as Jesus resurrection was the victory over death and the grave.

33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

We left as a conquering army that had plundered them. That was our severance pay. That is where the gold and silver for the tabernacle came from. That is where we got the bronze to make the brazen altar. They paid us, but it went to the Lord. The worldly system is based on debt, currency is created when you borrow money, in a very real sense debt is what makes the world go round. In essence they create currency to represent your future labor. When you die your estate is liable for the debt you are carrying. But, what happens at the rapture, who will be responsible then? Will life insurance pay out? Definitely not, there is nothing in the contract to cover "the rapture". Mortgages, car payments and credit card debt will all be left hanging. You can go to court against those who remain, but imagine what happens if 10% of the world is raptured, 700 million people. The court system would be in total chaos. It would be decades before you could sort it out. The cost to litigate it would be too much and so most debt would be written off. There could be 35 million Americans. The average American has $90,000 in debt (mortgages, car payments, credit card payments). That is a $3 trillion dollar hit to the US financial market, but worldwide it would be five or ten times that. This is not a trivial loss to the global equity market. As usual God is righteous in His judgements. They are saying that either you submit to our vaccine which will mark you as belonging to the elites or else we will kick you out because "we will all die". So then, the Lord says fine, they will all go. They are threatening to give these nano particles to all people from the youngest to the oldest and also on our food, on our herds. Everyone they threaten will be saved.

37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.38 Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.39 With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

What a sight that was.

40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord Of the generations to come.

The Lord is very precise in keeping time, in celebrating the festivals, in every appointed day. There is a reason for that and it is prophetic. To tell everyone exactly what would happen from the very beginning, just another way we can see how awesome our God is.

43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal: “No foreigner may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him,45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.

You have to be a believer. Circumcision is a sign of the covenant. The term “slave” here is not equivalent to what was meant by Southern slavery. You couldn’t purchase anyone until they were old enough to sign the contract themselves. The contract was not for life (unless the slave chose to not go out free), instead the contract was an agreed upon payment in return for a certain amount of labor. What we call “employees” the Bible calls slaves.

46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

Remember, “not a bone of Him was broken”. All of these ordinances point us to how great our God is. Today the house of God is the church. We eat the Lord’s table where two or three are gathered together at the very least. The church life is a corporate life. This is a picture of a corporate salvation, just like the first rapture which is of the church in Philadelphia. However we see the salvation in stages, this age, the age of grace, began with the Lord's table with Jesus being our Passover feast. That was the time at which we were thrust out of Egypt. The death and resurrection of the Lord at that time as well as our baptism during this age depicts us crossing the Red sea. We have a destination, it is the good land, the coming kingdom. The key stop on this journey will be Mount Sinai, which depicts Pentecost shortly after the Lord's crucifixion. Then again, at this same time the children of Israel crossed the Jordan river. Both in the old and new testament our salvation is depicted in stages, you have seven churches in Revelation depicting the stages by which this community, the church, is saved. Likewise in the book of Numbers you see the Israelites going through stages as well where they are purified.

48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it.

The term foreigner is not racist. It is about a covenant. If you don’t have a covenant with God you have no business eating this feast. Circumcision is the Old Testament sign of the covenant. In the New Testament the sign is that God has circumcised our heart with the cross of Christ. You must embrace the cross and take up your own cross if you wish to partake of this salvation. If you do not know the Lord Jesus and have not received Him as your savior then you are a stranger to the covenant and promises of God.

49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.” 50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

And that is the key, fear God, obey his commandments. Do exactly what the Lord commands and the Lord will bring us out when He raptures the church. The Lord is transforming us into a kingdom people, a priestly people, a people conformed to His image.
 
Further observations on Exodus

We are getting prophecies that these ten plagues will be repeated in rapid succession during the tribulation. This would be after the pre tribulation rapture.

Every believer needs to leave Egypt, needs to leave the slavery that is in Egypt. Some did so during the church age and they will be raptured, the dead in Christ first, and then those who are alive.

But not every believer has. Many genuine believers are still enslaved in Egypt. These ten plagues are designed to help you leave. The water is turned to blood for all unbelievers, this lets you know that you have not been cleansed by the blood of the lamb despite what you might think. People will be living and sleeping with frogs, covered in lice and being swarmed by flies. This reminds you that your flesh is a rotting corpse and you need to be crucified with Christ. There will be three days of gross darkness that can be felt, this gives you a preview of how horrific is hell, but the believers will have light in their dwellings.

These plagues a warning, a wakeup call, that little extra motivation you need to get yourself right with Jesus.
 
Like a thief in night

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

You might be tempted to think that "like a thief" means when you aren't expecting it or aren't looking for it. But the Lord adds a lot of context so you can't interpret it that way. I remember many years ago I was at college, eating breakfast. Outside it was pouring rain. When I was done i got up and realized someone had stolen my umbrella. That was not what the Lord is talking about here, that was a thief who simply was at the right place at the right time, a thief of opportunity.

No, verse two is put next to verse three for a reason. A woman is pregnant for nine months. There should be no surprise that a baby is going to be born, the only surprise is when. If you are guarding fort Knox you should not be surprised that a thief is trying to steal the gold, the only surprise is when.

A thief in the night is a reference to a well planned out heist, something out of mission impossible. Look at it, when they say "peace and safety" -- they are trying to put you at ease. Nothing going to happen tonight. You can watch the game, go see a movie, read that book. Not only is it well planned out but it is an inside job. After all who is talking to you and telling you "peace and safety"? That would be a person pretending to be a believer, could be a pastor of the church. It could be someone teaching the Bible.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

This insider will take advantage of those in darkness. Don't worry, peace and security, the Ezekiel war takes place at the end of the thousand years because look, Satan, Gog and Magog are all there at that time. You don't have to worry about Germany before WWI because I have a clear word from the Bible that Germany will be the villain during WWII. OK, so what? How is Germany starting WWII proof that they will not be fighting in WWI?

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

The thief has one goal, to put you to sleep. They will rail against anyone who says anything to wake up the sleeping Christians. Why are you saying these things, I thought you were a good Christian. Good christians don't get involved in politics, they don't care about inflation or depression or famine. Where is your trust in God? In other words, all the "winds of war", all the things that tell us there is not going to be peace and safety they don't want you mentioning. No warning, no waking people up. When they teach you the bible it puts you to sleep. It is a complete waste of your time and that is the point, 'don't read the Bible it is a waste of your time'. That is the thief in the night, he is a liar and a murderer.

7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

The most effective way to get someone to sleep is to get them drunk. The world is trying to get you drunk on their wine to put you to sleep.

8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

They will attack your heart. Faith and love will protect your vital organs. Every day you must put on faith and love. They will attack your mind that you are not saved. Everyday you must put on the full assurance of salvation, this hope will protect your mind.

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

That is the pointy end of the spear. We know that we have been appointed for salvation, nothing the evil one can do to dissuade us, we are marching forward, eyes firmly on the one who died for us, and we are fully consecrated to live together with Him whether or not we live or die.
 
"Put on the Armor of light"

Think about Mike Lindell, he is very up front and honest about his past drug use and criminality. He has clearly repented and confessed his sins and his foundation to help others is a testimony that there are works associated with his faith, his faith is not dead.

When he was on Jimmy Kimmel's show Kimmel tried to discredit Mike's investigation into election fraud saying that Meth addicts are frequently paranoid. Mike's response was perfect, he said that if what Jimmy was saying was true then his past drug use would mean he would no longer be able to exercise his rights as a citizen and that with this one statement Kimmel was pulling the rug out from anyone who had ever abused drugs. That is the armor of light. If you try to keep your past secret it is a liability, but if you bring it into the light, confess your sins and have works worthy of repentance then you are protected with the armor of light.

Now compare this to Fauci who said that he has always advocated for having an open mind about the pandemic coming from the Wuhan lab. That isn't true. You can find story after story after story where he did everything he could to kill any suggestion of a lab origin and attempted to discredit those saying this. If Fauci had been up front and honest and confessed to being wrong it would be a minor issue, but his insistence to the contrary is a powerful motivator for others to bring out the spotlight and search because he is plainly trying to cover up something far worse than him simply being wrong. That is what it is to be clothed in darkness. As they searched they discovered that Fauci was motivated to hide the Wuhan Lab's involvement because he had funded research at that lab into the very same kind of bioweapons. He lied about this as well and did that under oath to the Senate hearing committee. Senators are calling on him to resign and even suggesting he should be tried in a criminal court and go to prison.

When you come to the Lord the very first thing the Lord demands of you is to confess your sins and deal with them. For example, simply confessing that you were a former drug addict might not be sufficient, perhaps trying to help others get free of addiction is one way the Lord would lead you to deal with your sins. By coming into the light you are also putting on the armor of light. That armor will protect you. If you do get into the warfare with evil spirits they will surely look for a way to attack and harm you. The best protection is to put on the armor of light. They will be looking for your hidden sins. Confess and repent of all your sins first, put on the armor of light.
 
Acts 4:1-20 -- Is it right to listen to you?

4 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

One of the first questions you ask yourself after getting saved is why are so many greatly disturbed by the apostle’s teaching? Anyone paying attention to the news realizes that there are many who are greatly disturbed by the gospel and are actively doing whatever they can to seize people preaching the gospel and to shut them up.

5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

This is the "buried lead". If you are speaking in the Lord's name it is a declaration that these pompous human representatives are not "the Lord". The essence of the spirit of antichrist is that the false Christ portrays themselves as Lord. This is the essences of totalitarian regimes, they want to be Lord and therefore they cannot tolerate the church. They want to control what kids are taught, they want to get rid of mothers and replace them with "birthing people", they want to control what people say, and they want to control what you do, where you go.

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

The builders are supposed to be the experts and the cornerstone is the most important stone for the entire building. It establishes the lines for the walls so they are straight and so that the building is in the proper place. These experts rejected Jesus as being a stone fit for the wall, and yet He has become the cornerstone. That really makes you question whether or not they know what they are doing. Consider this last election, there are people in the media who are supposed to be “experts”, talking heads concerning national security, diplomacy and economy. Look at how fast everything has come undone with Biden. Look at how quickly they are ready to admit he is not mentally fit to be president. They were supposed to be experts, not choosing Trump will expose them the same way rejecting Jesus exposed the phony religious leaders. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dr...go-cognitive-test-to-assess-mental-impairment

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

These rulers were able to rule by intimidating those who were uneducated. There are many rules about what clothes you can wear, what the fibers can be made of, how you should behave if you put on new clothes, new clothes should be inspected to make sure they don’t have improper fibers, which arm should put on the shirt first, which shoe you should tie first, what clothes to wear of the Sabbath, on holidays, on intermediate days, while praying. Altogether there are 613 rabbinical commandments. You would need a degree to know all of them and making a mistake in these is a simple way to see that someone is uneducated and therefore unqualified to be a leader. Yet three years with Jesus and they are no longer intimidated by this.

14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

This is where you get to when you have the facts. Fauci is trying to say that a year ago he was open minded to the possibility that the pandemic came from a lab. The problem is he was giving interviews everyday. We have the video evidence, the interviews, the long list of journalists who questioned him. They aren't going to lie for him because it would make them out to be a liar. There is nothing they can say.

15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

This is what I find so interesting, why did they feel threatened? Why did they feel they must “stop this thing from spreading any further”?

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

That is the answer! Why does anyone listen to these guys? They are the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law. Why does anyone care what they say? The reason is that we believe they are giving us the word of God. Once people have to ask “which is right, to listen to you or to listen to God” the entire edifice they have constructed collapses. This is the fundamental question that Jesus’ ministry forces you to ask. Prior to this Emperors, Kings, Pharaohs, and Caesars all claimed divine right. They claimed they were speaking for God. Once this question began to be asked Kings coordinated with Priests. Kings would claim a holy war and the Priests would back them up. The laws would have a legalized slavery and the Priests would justify this in the preaching. But this question by Peter was echoed by Martin Luther, and throughout this age. We have come to realize that the rulers played us when they told us the crusades were a holy war. We were played when they told us that the Vietnam war was a war to protect the US from communism. We were played when they told us that Iraq was responsible for 9/11 and that they had weapons of mass destruction. This age has been about being with the Lord and learning to stand on our own two feet and to stop being played by everyone claiming divine right to rule. I am a science teacher, I teach about viral infections, I teach about many of the issues involved in this pandemic and what Fauci was saying was contrary to much of what I taught. I assumed that he knew more than I did and I listened intently to hear why this virus was the exception to the rule. He never explained that. Instead he said that "to question him was to question science". That didn't work for me, I knew that when major discoveries are made everyone thinks you are wrong, and the debate is vigorous, to question a theory is science.

This question that Peter asks is very similar to what God told him on the mount of transfiguration: “this is my beloved Son, hear Him”. Peter took that to heart and so asks these rulers

“Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you or to Him?”

This is what was so revolutionary about Jesus ministry. If Jesus is Lord then the rulers, elders and priests better be one with Jesus, otherwise why should we listen to them? Those that are not one with the Lord are greatly disturbed by our speaking and will do everything to shut us up.
 

All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets concerning Jesus

"Lord open my eyes that I may understand your word"

Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.

Today you will be with me in paradise.
 
Acts 4:21-37 -- The rulers band together against the Lord.

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. 23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’

We are about to see the nations rage, right now they are plotting in vain. Globalism is the rulers banding together against the Lord. If we can stand on our own two feet then all these leaders become superfluous. In the New Testament leaders are servants, they are very different from the leaders you have in the world. What is happening today, people are questioning why we need to listen to them? If you are a taxpayer you are paying for the police department. If the police department is not protecting and serving you, then why are you paying for them? This is the same question Rosa Parks asked. This is the same question every boycott asks. We pay for the federal government to serve and protect us. If they are sending our kids to go overseas and die in wars so that some oil company or defense contractor can get rich, why are we listening to them? The CDC is supposed to keep us safe from Pandemics. SARS was a potential pandemic in 2004, they should have developed a vaccine for it. We now think that being exposed to SARS in 2004 made some countries much safer from the Covid19 pandemic, this is why Vietnam and Taiwan were not impacted. If the CDC had a vaccine for SARS they could have given this to us in 2020 and we wouldn’t have this catastrophe with the shutdown. If they are not doing their job why are we paying them?

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

They will always brand these as “conspiracy theories” and connect them to crazy conspiracy theories. But Peter tells you right here that this age began with a conspiracy against Jesus. Historians have shown that Hitler conspired to seize power in Germany and then to start WWII, the US conspired to ramp up the Vietnam war with a phony claim of an attack on our Navy. Bush conspired to falsely accuse Saddam of having Weapons of Mass destruction to get that war. JFK was killed by a conspiracy to change US foreign policy. Tucker Carlson released a three part series showing that the January 6th event was a false flag event designed to silence Trump supporters. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. We are being set free to stand on our own two feet and to be able to hear the voice of God’s beloved Son. 2,000 Mules, Rigged and Absolute Proof have provided evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of election fraud overturning the 2020 election. This is where we are right now. I suspect over the next month we will see all the evidence of the crimes of the deep state come to the surface. I expect the whole country will be rejoicing because the "lame man" is the electorate will have won this massive victory against the corruption.

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

This word will shake the earth. What is happening in Beirut and Belarus and Portland will take place across the entire globe. People are asking “why should we listen to you?” That is earth shaking. And, people are being filled with the Holy Spirit, and they are speaking the word boldly. The Virginia election is shaking the earth. A month from now will be August 6th, that is the 9th of Av. That is the day that Noah released the dove and the raven. The dove signifies the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The raven signifies the release of the antichrist who was previously restrained. Jesus said the end of the age will be like the days of Noah. Right now CERN is operating to tear open the door to the pit of hell. This will release demons into our world. They were being restrained by the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit will step aside to allow the demons to fill the earth. Many believe that when the Holy Spirit steps aside to allow the antichrist to act unrestrained that the rapture of the church will take place.

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Right now we are in the midst of an economic disaster. China is on the brink of a famine, North Korea has admitted to being in a famine, the western US is in a very severe drought on an apocalyptic scale. China has cash and will buy up food from around the world which is why corn prices have risen 50%. That in turn will cause third world countries to have a very deep famine. The real issue is not that there isn’t enough food, the real issue is that it isn’t shared equally. The richest 1% own 44% of the world’s wealth. The church can weather this storm by sharing everything they have. The tribulation will be a massive storm. If you are here during the tribulation the only way to survive that storm will be to stand as one with all believers and for no one to claim that any of their possessions are their own.
 
1Timothy 4 -- What is the apostasy?

1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Let’s discuss what these demons teach. First, they will negate the necessity of faith in Jesus to be saved. As long as you do what you think is good then that is OK. Second they will undermine the faith in one God and Father. Since God is the God of all then “all Gods” are referring to this God. This is a direct contradiction to the word of the Lord that He is the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Him. They will deny specific commands and laws in the Bible like capital punishment. This is arrogant and opens the door for anyone to treat God’s word in a way that you can pick and choose what you will receive and what you will reject. They will teach people to commit fornication. They will teach ecumenism as a way to short circuit preaching the gospel. On the surface ecumenism sounds good, the oneness of all Christians. But when someone denies the faith once for all delivered to the saints, that is not something you can tolerate. So what they are really teaching when they say “ecumenism” is to tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and teaches my servants to worship idols and commit fornication. That is what these teachings are doing. Also, instead of referring to preaching the gospel as preaching the gospel they call it “proselytizing” and condemn it as unfriendly. This is a big deal, you must not share the gospel with atheists, you must respect the “freedom of religion” of every person. So preaching the gospel is now “disrespectful” of someone’s freedom not to believe. Along these lines they teach you to worship in silence, just like Paul said, they worship dumb idols that make you dumb. They will teach there is no hell, that Islam and Judaism and Christianity all worship the same God. Again, blurring the lines of the gospel in an attempt to deceive the elect. They will undermine the faith by referring to certain passages in the Bible as “magic” and “God is not a magician”. They will confuse and distort what the Lord did on the cross. Jesus bore our judgement for sin on the cross. He didn’t commit sin, but He bore the full judgement for the sin that we have committed. In that way He has paid the full price for our redemption. But they will distort that and say Jesus became a sinner for us, it isn’t our sin, it is His. In this teaching liberating us from sin becomes liberating us to sin. They will undermine marriage and reject God’s condemnation of homosexual acts.

2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.

We see certain sects forbid the priests and nuns to get married. This sounds holy and chaste, but what has happened is that about 25% of priests do have sexual relations with other adults. As a result you have a serious problem. Either you don’t have enough priests or you cover up this behavior. This teaching pushes many priests into committing fornication which in turn compromises their ability to condemn sin. Then you have pedophile priests. If they excommunicate the pedophile priests they might in turn expose the priests who are committing fornication, so the whole house of cards comes down. So instead they simply shuffle the pedophile priests around from parish to parish. This teaching promotes a religion of lies, deceit, hypocrisy and evil.

4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

This becomes a distorted and twisted view of the Bible. God doesn’t forbid priests to marry, the Bible doesn’t, but because the Catholic church does people then think that God does. That in turn makes everyone think that if they are married they are somehow less holy or less consecrated to God. The backlash is what we are seeing now with an all out assault on God and the Bible.

6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

The worldly society is filled with godless myths. Santa Claus, Halloween, horror movies, zombies, vampires are all examples of godless myths. Don’t have anything to do with them.

8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Train yourself like someone going to the gym. We have put our trust in the living God who is the savior of all people. That is why we preach the gospel, that is why we speak of the Lord, that is why we teach people to repent of sin, that is why we obey the Lord’s word. We do His commands because we love Him and know Him. We know that He is the savior of all people and we want all to receive Him by faith and repent of their sins.

11 Command and teach these things.

The deceiving spirits mock the idea of “command these things” they even attempt to discourage you from teaching these things.

12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

The Lord is coming and until He does come we need to devote ourselves to these things: public reading of scripture, preaching and teaching. Toughen up, don't let anyone look down on you for doing that.

15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

The more diligent we are the more we will progress. It is like the guy who goes to the gym and works out. When we preach and teach and read scriptures it can save those who hear, but it will also save us. Doing this is a salvation to you first and foremost.
 
We have an all sufficient Christ to finish this.

Matthew 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Babylon intended to build a tower and they didn't count the cost, didn't factor God into their costs. The Great Babylon also intended to build a tower and she didn't factor in God. The Antichrist and false prophet are intending to build a tower and they also are not factoring God into their costs.

We have a Bible, the complete manifesto for the Lord's kingdom.

We have embassies of the kingdom (churches) in every country, every city, every town.

We have believers scattered all over the world in all businesses.

The Lord has laid the foundation and when AntiChrist comes people will be able to compare his kingdom with the Lord's.
 

I share this because there are some prophecies that the discovery of a huge oil field in Israel will be what causes Russia and the Islamic coalition coming to fight Israel in the Ezekiel 38 war.
 
Another really nice piece to the puzzle.

We have been assuming that the covenant with the many is confirmed on Feast of trumpets, however it may be that it is confirmed on Feast of Tabernacles. He gives some compelling reasons why that might be.

 
Luke 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Consider a few other things, the 17th of Tammuz begins a 3 week mourning period where few people would be getting married, and this concludes with the 9th of Av which is probably the best day for the spirit of the AntiChrist to be released and for the spirit to be poured out on those left behind.

The 9th of Av is one of the "days of Noah" and entering the ark is also "one of the days of Noah". Prior to that we would expect a period of fasting and praying after the rapture.

Since the 9th of Av is August 6th, we are talking about the three weeks that begin July 23rd or evening of July 22. That is a Thursday evening. I would think weddings would be most popular during the weekend, also who wants to get married and then have your first day of the honeymoon be a fast day. That would mean the weekend of the 15th thru 17th would be hour very high watch time. I have also heard that the weddings in Jesus day were a one week affair. Since there is some thought that the appointed day could be a full moon that would be the evening of July 13th. Others have had dreams that the rapture is on Thursday, so midnight on the 13th would be early morning on the 14th which is a Thursday.
 
Another interesting point, if the fast begins on July 23rd and that is the same day that Moses came down and saw them worshipping the golden calf and broke the tablets that could refer to those who are left behind, the apostate church.

Jesus ascends, He is gone for 40 jubilees, then He returns, descends and what does He find, many believers who have given themselves to idolatry and pagan worship. Many are killed on that day, and then they will begin a fast from that day till 9th of Av. Holy Spirit is poured out and the spirit of AntiChrist is also released. We see miracles on earth, we see the Antichrist rise, and then in October the Antichrist confirms a covenant with the many.

To add to this China, Russia and Iran are doing military drills in South America/Central America in mid July. Perhaps July 23 is when they will strike America with the nuclear attack we have been warned about repeatedly.
 
I want to consider this story as depicting the rapture of the Church

Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

The church is Laodicea is the church of the laity, in other words the people tell the leaders what they want. It is the church where people do what is right in their own eyes. It is also the 7th church referred to in Revelation 3. So if we view Revelation 2-3 as a depiction of the church age this church is the conclusion. You might think that the rapture is the conclusion, but it isn't. The rapture is referred to in the letter to the church in Philadelphia, the sixth church. Making a golden lampstand of seven golden lamps is a process, the rapture is certainly part of the process, but the tribulation is also part of that process.

2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

This is the prosperity gospel. These gold earrings are "seeds" being sown for the kingdom. You give them to the religious leaders pushing this apostasy and they claim that you will reap some sixty fold, some a hundred fold.

4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

The prosperity gospel comes straight from FreeMasons and Jesuits who want to infiltrate the evangelical Christian camp (Philadelphia) and control it with money. One thing they prohibit is any discussion of the rapture, go back to the beginning of this chapter -- Jesus ascended we don't know what has happened to Him so make us gods that we can worship. What do they worship? The gods of Egypt, Moloch and Baal. These are Satanists pretending to be Christians, Satan disguised as an angel of light.

5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

Aaron doesn't get to proclaim "feasts to the Lord". The appointed feasts are part of the covenant God made with us. This is not a feast to Jesus, it is an abomination.

6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

Let's look at this word "play". To laugh, mock, play. to jest, to sport, toy with, make a toy of. The first time this word is used Abraham is in disbelief that a man who is a hundred years old would have a child or that his wife who is ninety would bear a child. This is what these believers are doing. They are mocking the Bible, they are making a toy of the Bible. They are making sport of the believers who talk about the rapture. The Bible is out of date, the things in the Bible are more like guidelines rather than commandments. This description from verse 1 through verse 6 is a very good description of the church in Laodicea, the apostasy, and the prosperity gospel.

7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

How about that! Everyone is looking for the rapture and the signs of the rapture. What will it be like prior to the rapture. Here we see that the apostasy must come first because this is what prompts God to tell the Lord to return to earth. We are seeing all this. We have seen that these mega churches are actually worshipping Moloch and Baal. If any Christians are making excuses for legalizing abortion you know they have been caught up in this worship. We have seen the prosperity gospel. We have seen the church infiltrated with FreeMasons and Jesuits, those that worship Satan. If we remember it was a mixed multitude that left Egypt. This period of time during the church age while Jesus has been in heaven has helped separate out the wheat from the tares. The tares have created their own appointed days, they celebrate festivals like Christmas and Easter, rising early, feasting, and then mocking genuine believers.

8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Weird, I thought it said "golden calf" but God calls it a molten calf. This word refers to a cast image. You put a wax image of a calf in the sand. When you pour in the molten metal the wax melts and you are left with the molten metal in the space left behind. This is how you make coins, you will cast the image, that is how you get the "image and superscription". Their god is their belly. For them life is all about money, food, and dancing. This is a very accurate description of some of Christianity with their huge cathedrals built with serious money from "the elites". Their festivals of Christmas and Easter which they declare are a feast unto the Lord are all about sitting down to eat and drink and then rising up to play. Christmas is filled with toys, Easter is filled with easter egg hunts. Both of these mock God. Santa in a red suit is obviously Satan, his magical reindeer are an offense to a God that condemns witchcraft, and the whole story is a mockery of the rapture. The holiday is held on the birthday of the Babylonian gods. Easter is also a reference to a pagan god, the god of fertility. What we are looking at in this story is exactly what we have seen happen to Christianity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back