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.
He does a nice review of this recent summit between Trump and Putin and he makes a very interesting point concerning the sacrifice of the red heifer and August 19th, saying it is exactly 49 days (seven weeks) from that event. If the genuine sacrifice of the red heifer is tied to the feast of weeks then 49 days later would be very significant. Also, we know that the sacrifice of the red heifer was connected to the war that Hamas started, so if they did that to prevent them sacrificing it what will they do now that they know they have sacrificed it?


Rapture, Aug 19, Peace & Safety, Sudden Destruction

Now if you are not familiar with the issues with the calendar the problem in a nutshell is that the we have a total of 40 calendars worldwide that are in use and concerning Biblical prophecy there are at least six that are referenced. Is it confusing? Yes, and according to the Bible that is the point.

There are many who have their own theories of this and try to tie the major events to the calendar.

I take a different approach. I say there are major events: Israel becoming a nation on May 14th at midnight, the six day war, the Yom Kippur war, and yes, the sacrifice of the red heifer. I believe these must take place on key dates. The Bible says that God tells us the end from the beginning. Based on that everyone should be able to check their various calendars to see how well they do that. For example, I think May 14th was second Passover. Figure out what those key dates are and you will have a very good estimate of key dates on God's calendar. Since July 1 would have to fall squarely into the period of time known as the feast of weeks (this is when we have offerings of the first fruit of Barley, Wheat, Wine, and Oil). We are also told in the Bible that Seedtime and Harvest are the two constants that will not change. So even though our calendars may be off by a few days or even as much as ten days, the seasons of seedtime and harvest should help us to know if we are talking about spring feasts, summer feasts or fall feasts.

In addition to August 19th being 49 days from the sacrifice of the red heifer it is also the day that Hitler came to power. These two are clearly connected. The sacrifice of the red heifer is an insult to Jesus Christ, it is the Jews doubling down on their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah and so points to them finding an Antichrist, a counterfeit to Jesus, to be the Messiah. Of course, Hitler is a counterfeit to Jesus with his 1,000 year "third reich" doctrine, his seven year war to bring it about, and his blood sacrifice in the Holocaust.

There is another expression used by many which is that Jerusalem is God's prophetic timepiece. So a nuclear bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki is important, but I would make these events secondary compared to critical events in the timeline of Jerusalem.
 

Shocking Truth About the Antichrist Revealed…

Billy Crone Links Website: https://getalifemedia.com/

They want one world government, one world religion, and one world cashless society.

Bill Gates
George Soros
King Charles --
The one who launched the great reset and the new world order
Elon Musk
Noah Yuvari
 
Lord Jesus, we come before your throne of grace in our time of need.

We stand on your blood and I pray that these prayers would be sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Lord Jesus, I am praying according to Your will. The tribulation is coming and the persecution of the tribulation saints is coming. We know that just as Pharaoh wanted the midwives to kill the Israelite babies that Satan will want these billionaires, the authorities, and the powers of this dark world to do the same to Christians during the tribulation. And so I bring my supplications on behalf of these men and women that the evil powers of darkness will be commanding, that just like the midwives at the time of Pharaoh they would refuse to do this and would know the peace that passes all understanding. In the name of Jesus Christ, the king of kings and supreme potentate I ask this.

I pray for each of the men and women commanded by these evil rulers of darkness, that they would hear about the Love of Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ I order the demons and the devil to be silent. I command that Satan stop communicating with these men and women supernaturally. I decree that any power of witchcraft in these men and women be broken until they come face to face with the gospel of Jesus Christ who is God incarnated just as Saul of Tarsus also came face to face with Jesus and saw the one he was persecuting. They must see that Jesus lived a life as a man, that He came to save us from our sins, that He died in order to pay the price for our sins so that we might be redeemed, free from guilt, and that He rose again from the dead, so that we are free from the fear of those who can kill the body. They must see that all authority and all power has been given to Jesus Christ and that He now is sitting on the throne. In the authority of Jesus Christ I command that their minds would be free and that once they have been confronted, face to face with the gospel, they will be able to make their own minds up. That includes being free from any influence of drugs and any other addictions used to bind these men and women. In the name of Jesus Christ I command that the devil cease giving these men and women drugs and that he cease giving these men and women the benefits of money and that he ceases to elevate them socially.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.

I also ask that all those ones commanded by the evil rulers see that Christians have a spirit of power greater than any witchcraft power and a spirit of love greater than any threat of death or blackmail. I pray they would see that there is no power in all of God’s creation that can separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All these many things I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the king of kings. I also ask that any who would attempt to violate this decree be bound and kept in the pit awaiting trial. I pray that any attempt to retaliate for this prayer would return on the heads of those who would take vengeance. That they would be snared in the snares they lay and that they would fall into the pits they dig. Amen and Amen.

Heavenly Father, I pray that your name would be hallowed and that the name of your Son, Jesus Christ would be glorified. I pray that Satan’s kingdom would suffer a split as the foundations of unrighteousness crumble, crack and fall. I ask that the gospel of Jesus Christ shining in the hearts of these men and women who take a stand for you against the Antichrist would cause the kingdom of darkness to fall and that the Kingdom of darkness would be brought into desolation and Satan would fall like lightning from heaven. I pray that their children will be their judges, having seen firsthand the corruption of sin. Lord Jesus we thank you that with You there is forgiveness that You might be feared. May the door be opened to these men and women to confess their sins, to repent and to be forgiven and come to experience the knowledge surpassing love of Christ. I also pray that they would bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.

Luke 12:3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Amen. Lord, I ask you to watch over your word to perform it. Anything spoken in the darkness by these evil rulers of this darkness should be heard in the light. That which was heard in the ear in closets spoken by these evil rulers of this darkness shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. This is the decree of the Lord Jesus Christ and I stand on this word and appeal that this be fulfilled. Lord Jesus you said there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed and nothing hidden that will not be made known. You will bring every deed into judgement, whether it is good or evil. Lord Jesus, You even promised to expose the hidden motives of the heart. Amen.

Lord Jesus I pray that you would not lead us into temptation but you would deliver us from evil. Do not allow the enemy to attempt to bring temptation to me, my family, my ministry, or my church as a form of retaliation. May they, like Satan when discussing Job, say “we can’t touch them, You have put a hedge of protection around them”.

All these many things we ask and pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. He is the one to whom every knee must bow. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
 
This is very interesting but I think he made a very big blunder. He gives the evidence that the tribulation period of seven years begins on the feast of trumpets but then equates that with the rapture.


The Rapture from Gad 14

My understanding is that the rapture precedes the start of the tribulation by as much as a few weeks.
 
Put yourselves into the shoes

We were told in the sermon this last Lord's day to put ourselves into the shoes of the person in the story.

So let's do that with Paul.

Let's see, we first see him when they are stoning Stephen, I think his crime was that he was quoting scriptures that the Jews didn't like and got offended at. The only modern example I can think of is when the Muslims declare a Fatwa on a person they don't like and then kill him.

Then Paul is riding off to Damascus, which isn't in Israel to round up Christians, imprison them and perhaps have them killed too. Even the Muslims don't do that, the only analog I can think of is slavers in the US hunting down runaway slaves. If we had one world government then Saul of Tarsus was like one of these slavers leading a posse to round up, not slaves, but Christians.

But then he got saved and we see his ministry which he wrote from prison, or while on parole, or while on death row.

The church age began the same way it is going to end, with a great persecution against the Christians. Think of Paul as one of the two witnesses during the tribulation.

And the book of Acts begins with a rapture, we see Jesus caught up to heaven and the angels telling us the same thing, just as Jesus went up He will also return, that which has been is that which shall be.
 

PRT 2: Joshua Explains – I’m NOT a Prophet, Here’s My Biblical Calculation for September 23-24, 2025

There is a claim made on this video by some, who were not present but had made comments, that the rapture cannot happen until the gospel has been heard by everyone on earth.

There is definitely a scriptural basis to say that God does not judge someone on whether or not they receive Jesus until after they have had a chance to hear. So they are using a real Biblical principle but in my understanding of the scripture they are misapplying it.

The rapture is not the second coming. Think of all the people in the book of Acts that heard the gospel and received it after Jesus had been crucified, resurrected and ascended. In the same way I understand the Bible to say that there will be a great harvest during the seven year tribulation.

Let's think about that logically. If every Christian were raptured at the start of the tribulation then why do they need to threaten those who won't worship the beast with death? Who is the Antichrist hunting down? In the book of Acts we see them hunting down and killing Christians because thousands are getting saved. If no one were preaching and no one was getting saved that would have been unnecessary. In the same way Antichrist will be hunting down and killing Christians because thousands will be getting saved and it is threatening the very foundation of his kingdom.

Consider this from another angle. If Jesus cannot return until everyone has either received or rejected the gospel then who is actually Lord? Doesn't this doctrine make the unbeliever who refuses to hear the gospel Lord? I learned this when I was preaching the gospel. I am accountable to be a witness of the Lord. I am not held accountable for what people do with that. They can reject it, they can receive it, either way I am simply one of the witnesses. A witness is not held accountable for either a guilty or innocent verdict. His only responsibility is to tell the truth. What the jury does with that is up to them. Jesus is Lord, not the unbeliever. If they don't want to receive the gospel, that is their choice, I simply move on. I have been kicked off of two previous forums and Facebook and Youtube. In every case I was given the opportunity to "change my ways" by not speaking about the Bible and the Lord Jesus. But if I did that I would make them Lord and not Jesus. Every time I brought it to the Lord, should I repent? The response was "shake off the dust and move on". Well, that is what I have done and 680,000 have seen this blog.

Now let's consider this from another angle. What country does not have the internet? The gospel has gone out into every country. Granted, there are a few countries where you cannot publish or distribute Bibles and where if you preach the gospel you will be imprisoned. They are the exception, not the rule. But if you read the gospels, in the gospel of Luke it never says the gospel must go out to all the nations. Mark says the gospel will be published in every nation. I suspect that will take place after the rapture, infants from every nation will be taken and so parents are going to be in a panic to know and understand what just took place. In Matthew it says the gospel must be preached in every nation. We know that the death of the two witnesses will be live streamed to the whole world, they'll have a live stream of them with their bodies lying in the street for three days. Why would they do that? Because everyone has heard about the rapture, they want to see for themselves. The entire world will see the livestream of the two witnesses being raised and caught up to heaven, that is the gospel being preached in every nation. Only after that event do we have the wrath of God being poured out. So yes, the gospel must be preached to every person, but the rapture at the start of the seven years and the resurrection of the two witnesses in the middle of the seven years plays a very big role in doing that.
 
Do not Grumble and Complain

I am always reminded of this event when I think about grumbling and complaining. We were playing in a bowl game for PeeWee football in Dallas Texas (our team was from New York). It was very near the end of the first half, we were winning 6-0. But, we had just fumbled the ball and they had recovered on our 5 yard line. So it was first and goal for them from our five yard line. I was the middle linebacker and was calling the defense. In the huddle I told everyone this could be a turning point of the game, if they get a touchdown here and an extra point they'll go into the half with a lead. That made everyone angry and one of the captains of the team, an outside linebacker told me to just call the defense. I did and we broke the huddle. The team ran a sweep to their right and out defensive end was supposed to turn the play back in, I would have been right there to stop it, but he was blocked and the runner made the corner and scored. At that moment I wanted to blame the kid who had been blocked, he used to be middle linebacker for the previous year and half. He was not happy at all about being replaced and I thought he had intentionally tanked the play. But before I could say anything, and thankfully I didn't, I learned the refs had thrown a flag. They had been offside and that is why they had been able to block him, they jumped the gun. They didn't score, we went into the half up 6-0 and won the game 12-0.

I came very close to damaging the team morale and oneness. I knew I had been wrong, I didn't have to apologize to him because I had not said anything, but I did have to repent for the thought.
 
Wonderful to hear, and you got a life long lesson to be shared for the good of the Kingdom.
blessings:)(y)
 
John 4:48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

Unanswered prayer

During my senior year in college I had to go see a professor in his office. I parked the car in the parking lot which was at one end of campus and I had to walk to the other end to his office. So I thought let me grab some gospel tracts and hand them out as I go. Usually I would have a hundred or so, but I scrounged around and could only find one at the bottom of a book bag. So I prayed that the Lord would lead me to the right person. I prayed that this tract would meet their need. With every person I would see I would pray if that was the person that needed to hear this word and there was nothing, no sense of any leading. By the time I got to the professor's office I was angry, I had been praying for ten minutes straight and the Lord had not led me to any one that I saw. So I decided the first person I see going into this building I'm giving them the tract. I walk into the professor's office and there is a girl there that I know. She is his girl friend (we had spent two weeks mapping some geologic structures and she was sleeping in his tent with him). So I walk up to her and say "here, this is for you" and shove the tract in her face. I was borderline rude, I had an attitude because I had prayed for the Lord to lead me to the person who needed this word and felt He had not answered that prayer.

She looked at the tract thoughtfully and said "That sure is appropriate". Up to that point I hadn't even looked at what the tract said, the title was "Life at best is very brief, like the falling of a leaf". She then told me she had just learned she had lung cancer and that was why she was there to let her boyfriend know.

Here is the interesting thing, if I had had 100 tracts in the car I probably would have passed out twenty or so, and then when I got to the office not given her one. Also, in four years this was the one and only time I went to see this professor at his office. I don't think that was an accident. I don't think that this one tract being the only tract I had was an accident.

But then there is more to this story. After the last day of class my senior year I am leaving campus to catch the bus home. As I am leaving campus I see this woman dancing by herself in a big field. The very powerful impression I got from seeing her was that she was saved, was filled with joy and most likely had been healed from the cancer as well. I did not know this at the time but that was the very last time I was on campus, have not been back since. That was the parting memory I have of those four years. I could share many other experiences but I think that is the summary, I worked with the Lord in the gospel and through that work many people received the Lord and got saved. Most of the answered prayer we never saw. We did see the tip of the iceberg, we saw many, many people pray with us, we saw a lot of attacks from the enemy against us, and we saw that our evangelism on that campus became the single defining issue that year. The entire April Fool's issue of the School paper was devoted to us indicating how this had become the single biggest issue for the entire campus. So let's not be faithless. Let's believe that when we pray the Lord hears our prayers.
 
NASA Fed 3I/ATLAS Data Into Google AI… The Results SHOCKED Scientists


Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
 
Lamentations 1:1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!

What a picture this is painting. We have seen this in certain major cities. Particularly in China, but you can also see it in the decay of a prosperous US city like Detroit. You also see this with the shopping malls. They used to be packed out, now they are deserted, particularly in Chinese cities.

how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

That is why this happens. Detroit used to be a great city among all the nations, but when we shipped our manufacturing off it became a dried up husk of its former self. The shopping malls used to be the preeminent place to shop, but Amazon.com and the internet squashed that.

2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

There are lots of videos about this online. When people are laid off they will weep sore. In China the unemployment has been rising, a thing that they had not seen before. In the US people are losing jobs due to the US debt cutting back funding, and also due to AI and robots taking jobs. But it is true that they always do behave "treacherously". Elon Musk, a guy who builds AI and robots in order to take away jobs went to work for the US government for free to help them save money. He sent out an email to every federal worker -- tell me the five most important things you did last week on your job. That is critical information for someone designing AI and robots to take those jobs.

3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.

Ancient slavery is simply modern day employee.

4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

And here is where we first noticed this trend. Not all churches, but all the big denominational churches dried up. You go in to a Sunday morning meeting and the sanctuary is about a third full at best. You look at the people and it is primarily the elderly. If you go to a big family reunion with about a hundred people you see what a healthy church congregation should look like. The children and young people are easily two thirds of what a healthy church would look like. But in many of these dried up churches you have two thirds of the congregation are the elderly simply because most of the young people are not there.

5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.

Who are the adversaries of the church? Just about everyone. The government, the school system, Hollywood, MTV, etc. The hypocrisy is over the top. You can go to schools and see posters idolizing sports stars and musicians and actors, you can see quotes from Hindus like Gandhi, Moslems like Malcolm X, and even religious leaders like the Dalai Lama. But try and put up a quote from Jesus or the Apostle Paul or the Apostle John and they will claim that they don't allow "religious quotes". Idolatry is fine in the public school, so is Islam and all Pagan religions. But a verse from the Bible, no way.
 
Lamentations 1:22 Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.

How exactly have they done unto us? We learned their ways. It used to be that the readers used to teach kids to read were based on Bible stories and our schools were the envy of the rest of the world. The world wanted to learn from us. But then they complained that a reader that is based on a Bible story is religious and a government run school is not supposed to be pushing a religion. So they scrubbed all the content out of the readers and made books like the Dick and Jane series. They were deadly boring and so no one wanted to learn to read. We have 18 year old kids graduating from school who can't read. The same people coming to us and saying they wanted to learn from us were sticking a knife into our back. Did you know we have light bulbs that have been working for 100 years? What they don't tell you is that the "new and improved" products have planned obsolescence. They are designed specifically to burn out after a year or two so that you have to buy more. That isn't how we first made them. Did you know that our phones were virtually indestructible and would work during a blackout? Even if the power went out the phones still worked. Not anymore, the"new and improved" phones have many features that the government likes, for example the ability to track you, the ability to keep a record of every place that phone has been along with the time, as well as the ability to be turned into a wire that can record what you are saying along with video. Also it has the planned obsolescence that the companies like so that people are buying new phones every two or three years.

So then Lord we pray that as they have done to us let it be done to them. Let those who pretend to be their friends be the same ones that stab them in the back. Let them design and sell them products which are a trojan horse. Let the planned obsolescence fill their homes with junk and bankrupt them, draining their accounts.
 
Love how you keep working for the Kingdom as required of us.
This sounds like what I think of as "divine encounters", which I love.
I have asked He give them to the glory of the Kingdom whenever I leave, He always does.
blessings
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZNP
Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

This word for fellowship means "to share together with" (sun "and" No. 1), is translated "communicated with" in Phl 4:14; "have fellowship with," Eph 5:11; "be... partakers of," Rev 18:4 (RV, "have fellowship"). The thought is that of sharing with others what one has, in order to meet their needs. (Vine's Expository dictionary)

A lawyer who is defending drug dealers can claim that what he is doing is legal. True, but it is also true that he is having fellowship with them. Now in some cases it is likely true that you are simply providing help so that a person gets a fair trial, you might be behaving in a way that promotes justice. But if you are counseling them on how to commit crimes without being caught, that is to have fellowship with them. If you are counseling them on how to launder their money, that is to have fellowship with them. If you are assisting them to buy legitimate businesses for the purpose of laundering money, that is to have fellowship with them.

This word for reprove means (a) "to convict, confute, refute," usually with the suggestion of putting the convicted person to shame; see Mat 18:15, where more than telling the offender his fault is in view; it is used of "convicting" of sin, Jhn 8:46; 16:8; gainsayers in regard to the faith, Tts 1:9; transgressors of the Law, Jam 2:9; some texts have the verb in Jhn 8:9;

Convict, that is even stronger than prosecute. You can put up a show of prosecuting a criminal but then allow them to get off on technicalities and pretend that you are doing that for the greater good. You can deceive most people, but not God. He knows the motives of the heart. They make it clear, this word is more than simply complaining about corruption, it is about putting those who are guilty of corruption to an open shame. In order to do that they must be "convicted". Prove it beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury.

12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

Epstein island, human trafficking, etc. Things the CIA does, the things our government does, all this "top secret" and "classified" documents. Why did they keep the documents about JFK's assassination classified for fifty years? Because it was a shame for them to speak of what took place. Why is it so hard to prosecute those involved with Epstein? Because it is a shame to even speak of those things.

13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

Sometimes we are too spiritual. A whistleblower who sheds light on criminal activity is shining a light. That takes courage, it takes faith in the Lord to stand strong

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Every single believer when they get saved is awaken from sleep and when they wake up they see the darkness. It is like an apartment that has cockroaches in the walls. Get up at 3am, turn on the lights and you will see them.

I heard John Todd's testimony (says he was a member of the council of 13 but then got saved). According to him all the politicians are in their pocket, governors, judges, senators, presidents, and congressmen. So then pray for these ones by name that they get saved, that they arise from the dead and that Christ shall give them light. That is how you bring down the kingdom of darkness.

According to him every single person working for a record label in Rock music, in Country Western, and even in a lot of pop Christian music is in witchcraft. So then pray for them by name that they get saved, arise from the dead, and that Christ shall give them light.

According to him FreeMasons, Mormons and pagans are all involved in witchcraft. So then pray for them by name that they get saved, arise from the dead, and that Christ gives them light.

According to him they have all the money they need. They can bribe people with checks for $5 million dollars. He says it is as easy for them to get that as it is for you and me to get $5. So then pray for the billionaires by name that they get saved, arise from the dead, and that Christ gives them light.

Luke 12:3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Amen. Lord, I ask you to watch over your word to perform it. Anything spoken in the darkness to these people involved in witchcraft should be heard in the light. That which was heard in the ear in closets by them shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. This is the decree of the Lord Jesus Christ and I stand on this word and appeal that this be fulfilled. Lord Jesus you said there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed and nothing hidden that will not be made known. You will bring every deed into judgement, whether it is good or evil. Lord Jesus, You even promised to expose the hidden motives of the heart. Amen.
 
Everyone wants to talk about putting on the armor of God but they skip this part of the chapter


Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

One of my Dad's rules was you don't back down to a bully. I remember I was practicing tennis against a backboard in the park, it was in a big tunnel under the road. Two kids, both bigger than me and most likely older as well came up to me and told me to give them my tennis racket. I look around and realize I am all alone, there isn't anyone else in sight. I figure I am definitely going to lose this fight, but the only thing I could think of was how I was going to explain this to my dad. I didn't want to tell them this but I needed a black eye and a bloody nose before I could go home. My dad would have blown a gasket if I said I simply handed over the tennis racket. So, I said no. I figured I had the racket and I could hit one of them really hard with the racket before they overpowered me. So I backed up against the wall, held the racket with two hands like a bat, and was ready to whack the first guy who got close enough. They backed down.

2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

I failed to do this. When I was 12 Mohammed Ali was fighting Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden and I organized a boxing match in my friends backyard. We had two undercard fights and then I fought Mike Irwin. We had made a ring, put down mattresses, put up ropes, had three judges, a referee and a time keeper. The fight was 12 3 minute rounds. I lost that fight, it was a decision after the 12 rounds. I understand why these guys check into a hospital after one of these fights. Anyway I hadn't told my dad about it, I wanted to surprise him with my victory. He had been a professional boxer in his youth. When he found out he talked to me and in five minutes gave me some advice which would have helped me tremendously. I would have done much, much better if I had simply talked to him before the fight.

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Before you go into spiritual warfare these are the two things you need to know. Defense and offense. It won't go well with you if you don't have offense and you won't live long if you don't have defense.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

When I first got saved I was in a church that had about ten college aged kids and they were nurturing us to be ministers of the word. Sometimes they would break a message up into ten pieces and assign each of us a piece to bring to the meeting to share. Other times they would get one of these college brothers to share the message or they might get two or three to share the entire message. However, I was never asked to share more than about five minutes, and usually it was two minutes or less. I was intelligent, I went to a top ten university while everyone else went to the state university or city university. Some people complained to the elders wondering why I was never given the opportunity to share a message. But I didn't complain. I took it as from the Lord. I realized it was much more challenging to speak a word that would hit the mark in two minutes than to speak for forty five minutes. I understood this was the Lord's training and I embraced it. Even though I didn't get to share any message, we could share testimonies after every meeting. I would often share testimonies in four meetings a week. Nothing canned, experiences I had had that week of the Lord. It was great training and I loved it.

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

We are servants of the Lord. If you have a problem serving those who are your masters in the flesh then in my experience the root cause is you have problems serving the Lord. Ego and pride are two very big problems we all deal with everyday.

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;


This was my attitude, I wasn't trying to please the elders, I was a servant of Christ, doing the will of God from my heart. I wasn't concerned if the reason they didn't ask me to share was because I wasn't a man pleaser. I looked to Jesus, He is Lord, He is the one that I was serving and if He wanted me to share a message then I would. Sure enough the day came when I would write letters back to the church, they were messages, and they were shared with thousands.

7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Who cares if people know what you are doing or if you are getting recognition for it? Jesus knows. What else matters? You reap what you sow, wouldn't you rather reap from the Lord than from man?

9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

This also is true. While on earth you may be a master, you may be in charge. But one day you will be held accountable for everything. I talk to my dogs all the time, I reason with them, I point out that they may not like something I'm doing but I am doing it because it is for their best interest. This is the attitude all masters should have.

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

There is this problem we all have and that is we don't see that the Lord is doing all things for our good. We are called according to purpose, He is preparing us for that purpose. We love God and He loves us and the things that He is doing is all for our good. Your dad, your mom, your brothers and sisters, your teachers, your school, the bullies, the bad things that happened to you, all of that is for your good. If some terrible thing happened to you take it to the Lord, ask Him why He allowed it, let Him talk to you about it. Find out what your error was, find out what you could have done better, find out where you ignored the Lord's warning. It will help tune your ear to hear the Lord and it will help you to become very keen on how serious this is because you don't ever want that to happen again.
 
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

The entire armor is so that we can stand. One year I played goalie for our hockey team. I assumed the cup I wore in football would be sufficient, but that is not true, a hockey puck flying at 60 mph towards you needs better protection than that. I assumed I could wear regular hockey skates, but that also is not true. Stopping pucks with regular skates causes them to get bent. We will be attacked the same way a goalie in hockey is attacked. They will hit every single spot on your body with the puck. A good, complete set of pads for a goalie costs $2,000 new. Don't skimp on the pads.

If you take a stand for the Lord you will be hit with all the wiles of the devil. You will be slandered, insulted, mocked, ridiculed, lied about, inuendo, whatever they can throw at you. I remember I was shocked at first. No one cared or said one bad thing about me when I was fully in the world, but the minute I took a stand for the Lord every single insult and slur they could hurl was thrown my way.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

That was a key lesson, they weren't wrestling against Saul of Tarsus but against the rulers of the darkness that were controlling him. When he got saved Satan's kingdom was plundered. Every time someone is saved Satan's kingdom is plundered. So pray for these people to be saved. You can go online and find the names of many Freemasons, many Mormons, many pagans, many judges, politicians, billionaires and people in the entertainment industry. We are told that they are all in their pocket, so pray for them by name to be saved. If they get saved it will cause the kingdom of darkness to split as the light scatters the darkness.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

When I played goalie I used the equipment the school had, it wasn't nearly as good as buying my own equipment. How wonderful that we have the full armor that God supplies. When Mike Lindell was on Jimmy Kimmel they mocked him saying that paranoia was a symptom of the drugs he had done earlier in his life. His response was that by saying that he was saying that no one in the US who had ever done drugs could be involved in politics. That shut Jimmy up immediately and exposed how big a hypocrite he was. To me, that was "a kick save and a beauty".

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,

The word of God is truth. We are children of God, that is the truth. We have been redeemed, that is the truth. We are called to be the Lord's witnesses, that is the truth. The truth is the best "cup" there is at protecting your loins.

and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Mike Lindell doesn't deny that he did drugs, that he is a recovering addict. He doesn't claim to be righteous. No, Jesus Christ is his righteousness. That will protect our heart and all our vital organs.

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Yes we are warning of the coming judgment, but the good news is that if you repent Jesus Christ will be your peace that passes all understanding. The world has their peace plans, we expose them as false, people may not like it, but it is the truth. All these peace plans are simply a smoke screen for the thieves to come in and rob you blind. This gospel that we preach is the New Testament. It is the word of God, not the ruthless version, but the version that is filled with grace and peace.

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. When you internalize the word of God and it becomes the spoken word to you then you have the shield of faith.

17 And take the helmet of salvation,

We have a promise of salvation. You have to pray over that promise until it is yours. But once you have done that no foul thought can take you out. I used to ride a motorcycle, and when I put on that helmet it changes your attitude. Immediately you are more serious, you realize this is a potentially dangerous machine. Twice I hit a patch of gravel on a curve and put the bike on the ground, but I was never seriously injured. You need the proper attire.

and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

They like to say that the Spirit mingled with the word of God is the Sword of the Spirit. But what do we see here, the word of God, the truth, our faith in the word, the promises of God, and the living word of God mingled with the Spirit, this is the complete armor of God. You can't put all this on when you are complaining, murmuring, gossiping, being self righteous, etc. You have to take all that stuff off before you can put this armor on. The goalie might come to the stadium in a three piece suit, maybe it is an Armani suit, showing how rich and successful he is. You have to take all that off before you can put this armor on. Your choice, do you want to be some big, important person or do you want to enter the field of battle wrestling with the rulers of this dark age? It is one or the other, can't be both.

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

What does this mean, all prayer and supplication? That sounds like you have to do some research. The Lord gives us what we are ready for. I would encourage you to do your own research. If you are a PeeWee you want to be playing against other PeeWee's. You don't want to play on the HS varsity team, they will crush you. If you are in HS you don't want to play on the college team, they will crush you. If you are in college you don't want to play on the professional team, they will crush you. However, if you are diligent in studying you can make the transition seamlessly. They asked Michael Jordan what he thought about his first year in the pros and he felt it was a very easy transition. Same thing with Tiger Woods, he won the first Master's tournament he was in at 21. He had a good first round and when interviewed he said his goal was to win the tournament. The guy interviewing him laughed thinking that was outrageous only to be apologizing three days later. But even with these extremely elite athletes it takes years before you can truly take all the armor of God at a professional level.

19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

In all of the church history no one had greater utterance at making known the mystery of the gospel than Paul. Yet here he is asking for prayers. This is a team sport. We all need each other, even the great apostle Paul.
 
Lamentations 1:1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!

What a picture this is painting. We have seen this in certain major cities. Particularly in China, but you can also see it in the decay of a prosperous US city like Detroit. You also see this with the shopping malls. They used to be packed out, now they are deserted, particularly in Chinese cities.

how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

That is why this happens. Detroit used to be a great city among all the nations, but when we shipped our manufacturing off it became a dried up husk of its former self. The shopping malls used to be the preeminent place to shop, but Amazon.com and the internet squashed that.

2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

There are lots of videos about this online. When people are laid off they will weep sore. In China the unemployment has been rising, a thing that they had not seen before. In the US people are losing jobs due to the US debt cutting back funding, and also due to AI and robots taking jobs. But it is true that they always do behave "treacherously". Elon Musk, a guy who builds AI and robots in order to take away jobs went to work for the US government for free to help them save money. He sent out an email to every federal worker -- tell me the five most important things you did last week on your job. That is critical information for someone designing AI and robots to take those jobs.

3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.

Ancient slavery is simply modern day employee.

4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

And here is where we first noticed this trend. Not all churches, but all the big denominational churches dried up. You go in to a Sunday morning meeting and the sanctuary is about a third full at best. You look at the people and it is primarily the elderly. If you go to a big family reunion with about a hundred people you see what a healthy church congregation should look like. The children and young people are easily two thirds of what a healthy church would look like. But in many of these dried up churches you have two thirds of the congregation are the elderly simply because most of the young people are not there.

5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.

Who are the adversaries of the church? Just about everyone. The government, the school system, Hollywood, MTV, etc. The hypocrisy is over the top. You can go to schools and see posters idolizing sports stars and musicians and actors, you can see quotes from Hindus like Gandhi, Moslems like Malcolm X, and even religious leaders like the Dalai Lama. But try and put up a quote from Jesus or the Apostle Paul or the Apostle John and they will claim that they don't allow "religious quotes". Idolatry is fine in the public school, so is Islam and all Pagan religions. But a verse from the Bible, no way.

China's Eerie Emptiness: Where Did 400 Million People Vanish To?
 
This whole "White hat" vs "Black hat", is it real or simply a deception?

One question that has bothered me is this, if Trump is a FreeMason and installed by them, why would he be fighting with other FreeMasons? This whole "White hat" vs "Black hat", is it real or simply a deception?

Let us consider what we know. The Catholic church and Islam are both very much aligned with FreeMasons. Again, you have the useful idiots who are "level 1" but as you get deeper and deeper into the deep things of Satan you discover how similar they all are. There are many in the occult who become Catholic priests as a way to become "more powerful" in the occult. We have also seen how the Catholic church and Islam have united in this ecumenical movement against Evangelical Christians. So if there was any doubt in the past about where their alliances were that should be gone now.

However, when I look at Witchcraft it is simply an attempt to use the occult to manipulate, intimidate and control others. Pretty much all unbelievers are involved in those goals whether or not they use the tools of the occult. So we can also compare this to the Mafia. They also attempt to manipulate, intimidate and control others. You see them divide up into families and these families for the most part fight with each other over their turf the same way packs of dogs would. Also, the Mafia does not target anyone, if they sell drugs then they only target those who buy drugs. If they are involved in prostitution they only target those who are into prostitution. Same thing with gambling, etc. This is how witchcraft operates as well, you have to open the door to them through sin.

So let's consider the Mafia as an analog. Perhaps the Mormons are one family, Jehovah Witness another, FreeMasons another, Witchcraft Covens another, etc. They each have their territory that they operate in. For example the music industry has their territory, Hollywood has their territory, drug dealers have their territory, and human traffickers have their territory. But what happens when one person's territory conflicts with another? In the Godfather they wanted to sell drugs, the godfather refused because the judges in his pocket would not go along with that. Some want to sell drugs, some don't. This results in a war. This is what we have seen throughout human history, don't think of a war being between white hats and black hats. It is between two Mafia families fighting when their respective turfs intersect.

In the same way there are many in the US who have profited from the US being the number 1 superpower, you can see how that is their turf that they will defend. On the other hand you can also see that the globalists envision a much bigger and more powerful turf. If we get one world government it will result in them getting a big win, but at the expense of those who are currently winning because the US is the number one superpower. The globalists and the nationalists are like two Mafia families, neither is good, only God is good. They can give you a long list for why they are the "white hats" but the reality is that this is just talk to justify them fighting a war to protect their turf. The threat this time is not drugs, it is AI. They understand that whoever has the most powerful AI will rule the world from the top of the heap and so that is what this war is all about. Demonstrate supremacy in AI.

A non biased observer would conclude that the two front runners for this spot are the US and China. This is why Taiwan is so critical to them both. Taiwan makes the best chips and without those chips you cannot have the best AI. You don't have to be a genius if you are in Russia, China, or any of the BRICS nations to know that if you are going to become the ruler of the world you will have to go through the US.

The "Peace and security" claim will be like Tessio setting up a meeting between Michael and the other heads after Vito has died. Michael then taking out the other heads is the "sudden destruction". These guys are warring according to the flesh, we are not warring according to the flesh. The rapture takes place at the same time as the sudden destruction, that is like Jesus pulling out his ambassadors from the embassy as the war begins.

But wait, isn't Satan warring against Jesus? No, he already lost, Jesus is already the king of kings. At this point Satan cannot do anything without the approval of Jesus. All he is doing is trying to take as many humans to hell with him as he can. The warfare is over souls, our prayers are that as many as possible will be saved.