Sufferings part two

We have the blessed promise that if we suffer with him we will reign with him.Thank God, the sufferings of this present day are insignificant compared to the glory we will share with Jesus!! Praise the living God I'm ready to see my Lord aren't you? The John to whom God gave the Revelation on the Isle of Patmos is the same beloved John to whom Jesus entrusted His mother on the day of His crucifixion .This is also the same John to whom God gave the marvelous salvation message (John 20:30,31).He is the same John to whom the Holy Spirit dictated the three epistles that bear his name-1,2,and 3rd John.This is the the John"whom Jesus loved"...... the John who laid his head on Jesus'breast at the last supper and asked,"Is it I,Lord?"He was a man just like you and me -but he was a man entirely yielded to the will of God,Oh saints if we could only get hold of this if we could be like our brother John how much better our lives would be oh saints how much better could we serve our God!!!!! Preaching to myself here (smile).Praise God for His mercy!!!.He served God with all of his heart and soul,with all of his strength.He was perfectly contented to suffer whatsoever he was called upon to suffer for the sake of the Word of God.He did not mention the trial,the condemnation,the parting with friends (if he had any friends.....I wonder if he had even one friend except Jesus),Can I get an AMen on that if you have ever felt like that.(smile).Not one word of reproach or complaint fell from the lips of John the Beloved.His arrest,trial,and the proceedings before his cruel exile,are passed over in complete silence,not even worthy to be mentioned by him.He simply says,"I was in the Isle called Patmos."What A Man Of God!!!!! God Bless

Three great periods of suffering

There are three great periods of determined suffering for God's people:1.The sufferings under pagan Rome.2.The persecution under papal Rome during the middle ages and the dark ages.3.The coming persecution under the power of the two Beast in Revelation 13-the Ecclesiastical Beast and the Political Beast.These Beast will be energized by the devil himself.It will be a time of such persecution as has not been known in the past,or at any time during man's stay upon this earth.The Jews will suffer most during the reign of the two Beast.John the beloved disciple was not schooled in the ability to trim the word of God to fit the times in which he lived.The modernists and liberals of today are trained in our preaching-manufacturing plants-known as schools of theology(smile).They are trained exactly how to preach a gospel that will suit the times and the people to whom they preach.But John preached the word without apology,and because of his true Gospel he was banished for his testimony and the Word of God which he preached.The Word of God declares,"if any man will live godly in Christ Jesus he shall suffer persecution "(11Tim.3:12).The only reason some of us are not exiled or thrown into prison is simply because we do not preach as fervently and as sternly as did Paul,John,Peter and others.This modern "Santa Claus " religion that is sweeping the country today is not the religion Jesus taught and John practiced.Jesus did not say,"Follow me and I will put a big automobile in your garage,money in your bank,and give you a host of friends and a flowery bed of ease!"Jesus said,"Follow me-and I will give you a cross to carry! I will let you walk beside me in my yoke.I will let you come after me and see where I live ....no place to lay my head.And if you are willing to carry the cross,you can be my disciple,but if you are not willing to carry the cross,you cannot be my disciple,you cannot share my crown.If you refuse to suffer with me,you cannot reign with me.If you put your hand to the plow and look back,you are not fit to be my disciple.If you deny me,I will deny you!" we will pick up here next week God Bless

"The Patmos Vision"

Read Rev.1:9-18: In verse 9 we learn that John was not a superhuman.He was a man just like you and me.John was our brother in the Lord.He was also our brother in persecution and in patience.He lived during the time of terrible persecution under Nero,and received the Revelation during his exile to Patmos for his testimony and for the Word of God.With the exception of John the Beloved,all of the disciples were martyred;but in God's providence John was exiled to the lonely island of Patmos because God had. Job for him to do.God's servant is indestructible ...he cannot be destroyed by the devil and all the forces of hell until God is finished with that servant here on earth.John was such a servant.He was faithful and true to the Lord God Almighty.The island to which he was banished was almost unknown in that day.It was extremely dreary and lonely.It lay in the Aegean Sea,just off the coast of Asia Minor.It is only fifteen miles in circumference,and today it is inhabited by a small settlement of Greeks.When the emperor banished John to the Isle of Patmos,he thought he had destroyed the old fanatical preacher;but God made the bitter wrath of the ungodly emperor to praise Him! Folks everyone and everything will praise The Living God!!!!! God will carry out His program,even if He must use an ungodly Herod,Pharaoh,Nero-or,in our da,a Putan of Russian to fulfil His plans.God does not compromise with the devil nor with sin,and many times God causes the devil's program to backfire and in the end bring honor and praise to God.Such was the case with John and his exile to Patmos.The devil slipped up in his plans when he caused the emperor to exile John to the lonely,barren island of Patmos .For John,his stay there knew no dull moments.Every minute was alive.Praise the Living God for Men Like John,God Bless!

A Divine Declaration

Rev.1:8: I am Alpha and Omega,the beginning and the ending,saith the Lord,which is, and which was,and which is to come,the Almighty. The announcement of these divine titles-"I am Alpha......Omega......Lord God.....the Almighty!"-is certainly a fitting conclusion to the introduction of The Revelation of Jesus Christ,Which God Gave Unto Him.God Himself is the speaker here....the great"I Am."He announces His own titles.The words "Alpha"and "Omega" refer to the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet.God is the source of all things...He is the beginning of all things.He is the beginning of all truth,all life,all creation.....He is the Alpha.But He is also the Omega-the end.God's glory is the ultimate goal of his program.Everything finds its answer in Jehovah God. God is eternal.He has always been(John4:23,24).Jesus is God in the flesh (2Cor.5:19;John1:1,14).God is one God,manifest in three persons-Father,Son,and Holy Ghost.The Trinity had always been.Jehovah God is an eternal Spirit. He was,He is,He is to come......He is the Almighty! In Him all things consist.Without Him nothing could continue,either in secular life or in heavenly life.Without Him the solar systems would cease to operate and the earth would fly from its orbit to dash through space into oblivion.God is the Alpha and the Omega.He is the Lord.....Which Is,which Was,which Is To Come!He is the Almighty!God Bless.

A Prophetic Declaration part two

The prophets throughout the era of the Old Testament had two great prophetic themes:Judgement -and Glory.The Old Testament prophet did not see the church age..... it was a mystery until it was revealed to the Apostle Paul,who makes known that revelation in the book of Ephesians.As the end of the church age draws near,Jews and Gentiles will become wicked as never before on the face of the earth (Isaiah60:2).The nations will be gathered in open rebellion against the Lamb of God (Rev.19:19)and they will fight against Jerusalem (Zech.14:2).Therefore,the earth must be cleared of evil and ungodly men before the Lord Jesus comes back to reign in glory,with His Church.Before leaving this section,let me point out that Christ is nowhere said to come with the clouds to gather the Church out of the earth.On the contrary,the saints go up in the clouds(1Thess.4:17).God provides a royal carriage to convey the saints from the earth to meet the Lord in the air.Pardon me for a minute while I have a Praise Break,you missed your chance to shout right there (smile) Let's get back on track,Clouds in the Old Testament were the well-known symbol of the presence of Jehovah with His people (Ex.13:21-40;Ex.40:34-38;Luke 9:35).Christ is not only said to come "in the clouds"(Mark13:26) but He will come with the clouds (Rev.1:7) and in the clouds (Matt.24:30).The clouds which attend His coming are symbols of His majesty and glory.Read Psalm 18:9-12.The Lord sits on the clouds,as on His Throne.We believers will be caught up in the clouds (1Thess.4:17).The Lord Jesus ascended in the clouds (Acts1:9)and He will come in a cloud (Luke21:27).These facts are very interesting to spiritually minded believers.The statement "every eye shall see Him"is to be taken literally.Every eye will not see Him at the same identical split second-but every eye will see Jesus.One class is singled out from the mass of mankind and mentioned as "they which pierced Him".The entire earth will be open conflict against the Lord God and His Anointed (read Psalm2),but this one group is pointed out specifically.John is the only one who records the incident of the Gentile spear which pierced the Saviour's side (John19:33-37).Pilate admitted three times that there was no fault in Jesus(John18:38-19:6);but in spite of the fact that Rome knew Jesus to be innocent,they allowed Him to be scourged and crucified .The Jews screamed aloud for His death.They invited His blood to be not only upon them,but upon their children;and their children have inherited that guilt for generations.They will see Him "whom they pierced"(read Zech.12:10).The people's referred to as "those who pierced Him"are the people whom we know today as Jews."All the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him."This coming in the clouds in great glory and power will take place over the the entire universe at the same identical time.All the people's of all the earth will see the Son of God coming in the clouds of Glory.In chapter six we will learn that a world-wide prayer meeting will immediately be in progress.....but the prayers will be unanswered.Verse 7 closes with the words"......Even so,Amen".That is a double "amen",and certainly carries much weight spiritually.Amen means "so be it."The Spirit is saying here,"This is true.It will happen exactly as stated."Folks Jesus is coming soon I want to be ready how about you? God Bless

A Prophetic Declaration

Rev.1:7:Behold,he cometh with clouds;and every eye shall see him,and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.Even so,Amen. The second coming of our Lord is a vital part of Christian doctrine,and there has never been a time of greater need for the preaching of this truth than today.It is essential to distinguish the two parts of His second coming.There is definitely a period of time between the Rapture(the time when Jesus comes For His saints).and the Revelation (when He comes With His saints). The Rapture is mentioned in John 14:3; Philippians 3:20; 1Thessalonians 4:15-18; and 1 Corinthians 15:23. All these Scriptures refer to the next great event for Christians-the Rapture of the Church-the time when Jesus comes for His saints,and every living,born again blood washed child of God will be caught up to meet Him; the bodies of all the saints who have died will be raised incorruptible, and we will all be caught up together to meet the Lord in the clouds in the air. But there is another group of Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments which distinctly teach another coming,and verse 7 in our present chapter refers to this time when Jesus will come With His saints.(In connection with this read Jude 14; Zechariah 14:5; Colossians 3:4 and Revelation 19:11-14).The statement ,"Behold,He cometh with clouds" agrees with Daniel's statement "I saw in the night visions,and,behold,one like the Son of man came with the clouds of Heaven"(Dan.7:13).This also corresponds with the prophetic utterance of the Lord on the Mount of Olives: "They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory"(Matt.24:30b).All these Scriptures refer to the Revelation-the time when Jesus will come in the air and Every Eye shall see Him.When the Rapture takes place,no person will see the Lord Jesus.He will not come to the earth;He will descend in the air, the trumpet will sound,the voice of the archangel will call the saints up to meet Jesus in the air,He will not stand on the earth when He comes in the Rapture,but He will not stand on the earth when He comes in the Rapture,but He Will stand on the earth when He comes in the second phase of His return.Zechariah 14:4 definitely describes the Lord Jesus standing on the Mount of Olives.more next time God bless

Kings and Priests

Verse 6:"And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father;to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.Amen." Through the writer,John,the Spirit is here glorifying the Lamb who left the Father's bosom,came into the world and shed His blood on the cross that we might have remission of sins.Praise the living God without the blood there's no chance for eternal life thank God He shed his Blood for me!!!! Those of us who are born again are kings and priests:"But ye are a chosen generation,a royal priesthood,an holy nation,a peculiar people;that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light"(1 Peter 2:9). This verse definitely refers to Gentile believers.....those of us who in times past were without God and without hope,but who through the death of Jesus are made sons of God.Those of us who are members of the New Testament Church,born again believers ,have been washed white in the precious blood of Jesus.The moment we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we became sons of God and have access to God through the blood.We are kings,we are priests.....and we approach God through our Mediator, the Lord Jesus(1 Tim.2:5).Therefore,in this day and age there is no such thing as priesthood separate from laity....we are All priests when we are born of God's Holy Spirit and washed in the blood of the Lamb.We approach the throne of God only through a new and living way,purchased by Jesus on the cross(Heb.10:19,20).