I have been reading, “Before God’s Wrath: The Bible’s Answer To The Timing Of The Rapture,” by H. L. Nigro.  Here is an excerpt from Chapter 15 of the book, which I found to be of great interest. I also so recommend this book. It is very well written and will challenge your expectations of end time events.

God’s Judgment In Revelation

..The purpose of the seal judgments is to refine and test God’s people. This can be seen in Jesus’ parables about the end of the age in Matthew 13. In this chapter, Jesus gave two parables about the Kingdom of God with reference to the end times. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, the harvest is designed to separate the “sons of the kingdom” from the “sons of the wicked one:

Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶“But when the wheat sprouted and bore rain, then the tares became evident also. ²⁷“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹“But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

As Jesus pointed out, tares were weeds sown into a farmer’s crop by his enemies. In the early stages of the plants’ growth, it is impossible to tell the two apart. If the farmer attempted to pull out the tares, he risked pulling up the wheat, as well. It was only when the plants were mature, at the time of the harvest, that it was clear which was which. Jesus went on to say that, for humanity, this harvest will come at the end of the age, when the “Son of  Man will send out His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:41-43)

When is the end of the age? This is exactly the question asked by Jesus’ disciples earlier in this same chapter. “Tell us, when will these thing be? And what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? (vs 3). To this question, Jesus answered by describing the beginning of sorrows - the first, second, third, and fourth seals (vv. 5-8); the abomination of desolation and the Great Tribulation (vv. 15, 21); the cosmic disturbances (v. 29); and then, finally, His triumphal return (vv. 30-31). At this time, the physical Kingdom Age, with Jesus coming to claim His rightful throne, has begun. Judgment, which begins during the Day of The Lord, has begun, as well.

The parable of the wheat and the tares is a perfect inllustration for why the events must occur in this order. Before the Church can be presented to Christ as the spotless Bride, she must go through the “hour of testing” (Rev. 3:10), during which professing believers will be “refined, purified, and made white” (Dan. 11:35). Those who are the true believers in Jesus will stand firm for their faith, while those who are merely professing will stumble under the threat of famine, and persecution, or death. The wheat (true believers) and the tares (professing Christendom), once indistinguishable, will be ready for harvest.

Parable of The Dragnet

The second parable is the parable of the dragnet:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separated the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 13:47-50)

Like the wheat and the tares, this parable illustrates the fate of professing Christendom. Jesus said to His disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt 4:19). In one of His last instructions, He commanded, “Go therefore  and make disciple of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19) In other words - Go fishing. Yet many sit in churches today, having been caught by the dragnet and accepted the teachings of Christ, perhaps even having gone through the physical act of being baptized into His death and resurrection, without truly being regenerated. Like the fish of every kind, they remain mixed with the good fish until the end of the age. Once again, this is in perfect agreement with the seals as a time of testing prior to the return of Christ at the harvest.

These parables give further confirmation that the seals are a time of purification for the Church prior to the end of the age. The judgment of the wicked begins during the trumpets and bowls, which are administered by angels during the Day of the Lord. This judgment begins with the bodily return of Christ at the rapture, after the opening of the sixth seal…

References
Before God’s Wrath: The Bible’s Answer To The Timing Of  The Rapture,  Chapter 15, H.L. Nigro

Happy Father’s day to all of you dads out there! I am currently at work but will soon be off. My children are not here with me. They are with their mom in SC. I am sure they will be calling shortly after I get home. I know they have already gotten there shopping done because they called me from the store.

I will aso be calling my dad to say Happy Father’s day. If you have a father still living you should call. No matter if you haven’t spoken in years because of your differences or disagreements. Today is a good day to be reconciled.

Today is also a day to be reconciled to the Father of all fathers, the God of Heaven. He has made it possible through his Son Yeshua (Jesus). If you have been avoiding God because you think ahe won’t accept you there is good news. Yeshua the messiah has died for your sin, and, He was raised from the dead. Because of this you are able to come to the Father and become one of His sons. It is the ultimate Father’s day gift.

Make this day a day of reconciliation to your earthly father and your heavenly Father. Be blessed on this day to honor fathers everywhere.

I live in Green Cove Springs, Florida, a quiet little town where not much happens. Also living here was a little old, Grey haired, lady. However, she didn’t have a home. She lived in a tent across the street (Hwy 17) from Harvey’s grocery store. I didn’t know her name. I have given her money on occasion, but, what did that really help? I feel ashamed that I didn’t do more.

About 4 or five days ago I saw an emergency vehicle there in front of her tent. I thought maybe something had happened to her, but, it turned out that someone else needed an ambulance. Since that day I have not seen her but, a lady who works at Huddle House (a restaurant), said that she had seen her today walking down the street.

Two days ago, around mid-night, there was a severe storm here. There were several nearby lightning strikes as well. I thought about the little old Grey haired lady that camped out near me and, I went out looking for her around 12:30 am. I did not find her. I had no idea what I was going to do if I did find her. Maybe let her sleep on my living room floor? I don’t know.

Today, after talking to the lady at Huddle House I went to see if I might find the lady in her tent. I did not. What I did find was evidence that the city had run her off and posted a sign that said, “No Trespassing.” Now I really do feel ashamed that I didn’t do more.

All I found was trash and scattered clothing. Also, I found her tent, destroyed, near a clothing drop-off box. I do not know where she went. I don’t know if she was arrested or, if she was taken somewhere to be cared for. All I do know is that the place she called home is not hers anymore.

Christian, what would you do if you suddenly found yourself homeless? Would you expect people to help you? It always makes me think of the time Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given to you.” ( Luke 6:38) How is your “Christianity” defined? Is it defined by the fact that you go to church on Sunday or, Saturday or, whenever you go? Is that you know a lot of scripture or, have large parts of the bible memorized? Is it that you are prosperous and give credit to God (and you should)? What is it? Are you obedient to God’s word? That is the real question. Take a look at the full passage I just quoted from Luke chapter 6 verses 24 - 49 (NLT).

“What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
²⁵ What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
²⁶ What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Love for Enemies

²⁷ “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. ³⁰ Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. ³¹ Do to others as you would like them to do to you.³² “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! ³³ And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! ³⁴ And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

³⁵ “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. ³⁶ You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Do Not Judge Others

³⁷ “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”³⁹ Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? ⁴⁰ Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

⁴¹ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴² How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

The Tree and Its Fruit

⁴³ “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ⁴⁴ A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thorn bushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. ⁴⁵ A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Building on a Solid Foundation

⁴⁶ “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? ⁴⁷ I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. ⁴⁸ It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. ⁴⁹ But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

There is nothing I can add to what the Master has said except that unless you obey His Words they are useless to you. I am speaking to myself more than anyone. We all need to do more than we are doing when it comes to God’s word. Knowing God’s word is not enough. We must begin to obey. I am not talking about salvation. I am talking about really becoming God’s people, His children.

James says this:

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22 - 25)

When The Son Of Man Comes, Shall He Find Faith On The Earth?

In Luke 18:8 Jesus is speaking a talking to His disciple about praying. He says, “men ought always to pray, and not to faint..” He then told a story (parable) about a city judge who didn’t fear God or man. A widow came to him saying, “avenge me of my adversary.” He didn’t do anything for a while but, a while later he said to himself, “though I don’t fear God or regard man, this woman troubles me. I will avenge her or she will keep coming and weary me.” Then the Lord said, “hear what the unjust judge is saying. Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you he will avenge them speedily.” Then the Lord seems to shift to a distant time in the future, and he ask, “Nevertheless when the Son of Man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?”

Will you have faith in the coming days? I believe Christians are in for hard times in the near future. Why? Because of the hour in which we live. I believe that the world is at a point in time where the stage is being set for end time events to begin to unfold. In Matthew 24, Jesus is on the Mount Of Olives when His disciples come to him ask,

“when will all this happen (the destruction of the temple). What will signal your return and the end of the world (age)?”(Matt 24:3 NLT)

The first thing Jesus tells them is, “Don’t let anyone mislead you..” Then He gives a list of events that lead up to some very troubling signs saying

“..for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines (hunger) and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”

Most Christians believe we will have been raptured by this time. Keep in mind Jesus in talking to His believing disciples, the same ones who are the first to receive the Holy Spirit on Shavuot (Pentecost). They are the first believers. If Jesus is talking to them, He is talking to us.

The next thing Jesus says is shocking. “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed.” First century believers did face these thing in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed by the Romans. Keep in mind though, Jesus is answering the question, “What sign will signal your return and the end of the world (age). Obviously, the world did not end in 70 A.D. Jesus is still talking to believers. The Question is to what believers? He is talking to believers who will be alive at the time these things happen. Again He says,

“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn from me and betray and hate each other. ( Matt 24:9-10

Jesus is talking about persecution for latter day believers. In some instances we will even face death. Are you ready for that ” professing Christian?” Will you hold to your faith and proclaim Jesus as your Lord in the face of open persecution? Will you hold to your faith in the face of impending or certain death? Or do you just think it can’t happen to you? Are you above the Master then?

The disciple is not above this master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? (Matt 10: 24-25)

Jesus faced great opposition from the religious leaders of His day. He continued in His claim to be the Son of God, the Messiah, to the point of death. I am not trying to scare anyone, but, what a terrible thing it would be to be unprepared for one of the worst times Christians have ever faced? Are you sure you are going to be raptured before anything bad happens. Do the scriptures say this to you without being twisted and taken out of context to make it so?

A Falling Away From The Faith

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. ( Matt 24:12-13)

Will you turn from your faith in such times. Many professing Christians will do exactly that. The churches are full of people who may or may not be true believers. We don’t know who they are - the true or the pretenders. It is possible to sit in church week after week, say the right things at the right times, and never actually have a true conversion. You know the language - the lingo. People are dressed in their own holiness on Sunday mornings, mixin it up with all the other professing Christians. Who are the true ones though? Are you one - One of the true believers? You really can’t tell them apart. God knows who they are, the ones who have been truly converted, and, the ones who have not. Take a look at the parable of the wheat and the tares.

The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matt 13:24-30)

If the kingdom of Heaven is likened to this parable lets look at some possibilities.

Good Seed is sown in a field - The Word Of God has been preached in this world, and, those who believe begin to grow and bring forth fruit accordingly.

An Enemy sows tares (weeds) among the good seed (wheat) - The devil plants confusion which causes unbelief in God and His word. Those who are confused and unbelieving bring forth fruit accordingly. In a garden weeds affect the seed that was sown and, destroy the life of the garden. They compete for space, water, light and nutrients. They can also be alternate hosts for pests and diseases. The enemy of God has sought to do the same to God’s garden. Just as weeds in a garden act as host to things you don’t want in the garden the unbelieving world becomes an alternate host for darkness, evil, rebellion, and perhaps even demonic influence or possession.

Distinguishing the Wheat from the tares - The servants asked if they should go and gather up the tares. The man said no, you might root up the wheat with them. He decides to let them grow together until the harvest.What is the point in letting them grow together? The bigger the plants become the easier it is to tell them apart. In the world today we have believers and non believers. As we get closer to God’s harvest the easier it will be to tell them apart. This is true in the church as also.

As we approach the harvest of God the tares and weeds become more apparent. You can see it all around us today. The world is plagued with all manner of sin such as, sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, just to name a few.

Those who believe in, and obey God’s word, will begin to stand out as strange and be labeled as intolerant, because of their testimony of Jesus. Like weeds in a garden overtake the true plants of the garden, so will those who do not believe in, and who do not obey God’s word, will begin to attack the believer. Those who are the true believers will stand in their faith and not deny Christ or back down from preaching his word. Those who have been professing Christ for years without a true conversion will most likely back away from the faith for fear of persecution. Some, hopefully, will realize that they need to Lord in this time and will be truly converted, and, stand their ground in the faith.

The Harvest - At the harvest the farmer commands the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. When the harvest of God is finished, according to this parable, it seems God will have the the tares (the wicked) bound up to be burned. And will gather the wheat (the righteous) into His barns.

These will be hard times for the entire earth, but, especially for those who hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ. Why would we have to go through such a thing. I believe that the time of testing is necessary to sift out God’s people from among the world, to sift out unbelievers from God’s people, to cause those who are on the fence about God to make a decision for God or Satan. This time of testing will purify our lives. That is not to say God does not see as a pure in Christ right now (those who truly believe). During this time however, we will be purified and set aside in the sight of all the world, to be witnesses. We will be an unmistakable representation of our God on the earth at that time.

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

So are you ready for the test? Which one are you? Do you have faith? Are you a true convert? Will you hold on to your faith in time of testing? Or, are you just professing to be a Christian and have never had a true conversion? The whole world will be tested. When it is over some of us will come out pure and spotless with the body of Christ. The rest will have let their love grow cold, fallen from the faith and professing to be a Christian, and will have taken sides with the world in persecution against God’s people.

Immediately After Those Days - The Gathering of The Saints

“Immediately after the distress of those days
” ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^[c]

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.(Matt 24:29-31)

There are 21 great judgments in the book of Revelation, beginning with the opening of seven seals that are wrapped around a scroll. Within the first four seal judgments are four horsemen judgments. The horses come in four separate colors: white, red, black, and ashen (or gray). If these were the only judgments given in the book, they would be sufficient to cause alarm. Instead, they are only the beginning of the judgments.

The Great Tribulation has not started yet. We are still awaiting the key events of the Abomination of Desolation, a prophecy given by the prophet Daniel and cited by the Messiah as the key sign and the beginning of the Great Tribulation. That does not mean that we cannot see other developing trends and events which are foretold by other major prophecies and God’s coming judgments. Recently, the theme of those future judgments has become more apparent. The growing trend of events and decisions by leaders and nations is moving us steadily to the end events. In my opinion, the trend has begun to accelerate even more so in the last few months. In particular, the stage is being set for the horsemen judgments. Let’s examine what is currently happening and compare with what the Scriptures say that the last generation will face.

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