****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

We all remember watching the first tower fall, then the second tower crumble down, as the world was baffled by the happenings of 911. We are still cleaning up debris and rebuilding after the devastation that occurred with Hurricane Katrina. We still remember those that were taken by the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. We also remember those that have died serving our country. We also remember those who died during one of the most tragic wars which was the Civil War, the war which brothers fought side by side with brothers and even against their own brother. All these events though tragic, and at the time may have seemed apocalyptic they are nothing compared to the judgment that non-believers will face as we come to the end of the ages when it is time for God to judge the earth. But there is Good News! As we will see in today's reading, God is merciful, loving and long suffering or patient. He bestows his glorious grace upon us in the fact that even up to the end of the world the Gospel which literally means good news will be preached to those that are on the earth.

What is the good news? The good news is that we don't have to endure the judgment. We can humbly come before God, and fully place our dependence upon Jesus Christ who died for our sin. There has always been the argument between works and faith. If you are trusting or depending upon yourself for salvation, that is considered works. If you are depending fully upon Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, that is salvation by faith. Works will be a RESULT of faith upon Jesus. You see you can't have works without faith first. What does it mean to depend on Jesus and not yourself. The simplest way I can explain is using the illustration of driving a car. If you are driving a vehicle, you are dependent upon yourself to get yourself to the destination safely. If someone else is driving the vehicle and you are in the passenger seat, you must trust and depend on someone else to get you to the destination safely, and the person driving the car ought to be Jesus Christ. If we depend upon ourselves we are saying the Jesus died on the cross for nothing. But we know that isn't true, and God gives us the mercy and grace even up to the end of the world to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, and depend on him ALONE for the forgiveness of our sins. You see, that is the way you know what the future holds for your eternal life. Those who are non-believers, even though seem to be good people, will parish or die in a REAL place called Hell. Those who believe have the blessing of having their sins forgiven and are sure they are on their way to heaven.

You must respond whole heartedly to the gospel. In verse 6 of Revelation Chapter 14 we see an angel which had the "everlasting" gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth. Everlasting means that the good news of Jesus dying for our sin will be the good news forever and ever. You see even during the tribulation in the final days the Lord provides us with opportunity to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior even unto the end. How many opportunities have you not taken advantage of? How many opportunities does the future hold for you yet? You see we don't know how God's sovereign plan works but I do know this, there are 2 for sure events in life, that is taxes and death. We just don't know when we will die, but the great thing about this opportunity is we can take advantage of it NOW!!! Why wait, be accepted into Christ's family now. The gospel is the good news and is and will be preached to everyone. Notice in verse 6 it says that the everlasting gospel will be preached unto them that dwell in the earth. If that doesn't convince you that it means everyone, look at the next line, to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. That is a very poetic way of saying EVERYONE. The gospel is offered to ANYONE who will accept Christ as Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of sins. When you accept Jesus and confess your sin to Him and Him alone and ask for forgiveness, He will give you a place in his home in heaven forever and ever. You know our short little insignificant lives here on earth don't compare to our lives that we will endure in heaven forever and ever, for those who truly believe.

We must respond to the gospel because of the nature of our sin. We as humans sin by nature. From the time we were born until we are saved, we are slaves to our sin. You see we choose to sin, because we have the choice not to sin. By depending on Jesus for the forgiveness of sins we are freed from the bondage of sin and become a child of Christ. When we place our full dependence upon Him, he guides us and gives us wisdom. By power of the Holy Spirit we are convicted when we sin, and must repent and confess our sin, but as we mature in our walk with Christ we will sin less and less.

We must respond to the gospel because of the reality of judgment. In verse 9-10 we see those who don't accept Christ, instead worship Satan, the beast and have the mark of the beast on their forehead. They will endure the wrath of God and suffer an eternal death in hell with fire and brimstone, as they will never be given peace. But we see in verse 12 that those who believe or the "saints", those who keep faith in Jesus, they will be blessed. It goes on in verse 13 to say that blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. They will be given rest and peace with God.

We see in verse 14 - 20, God judging those who don't believe. The angels sent down to harvest those who don't believe and deal with God's judgment. The severity of the judgment will far surpass the events of 911, be more bloody than any war that has occurred, and much more devastating than any natural disaster ever recorded on this earth. What a day of sorrow for those who were given many opportunities to believe the good news. You know if you die a non-believer, you will have sacrificed the benefits of true salvation through Jesus Christ. How many opportunities will you pass up before you turn to Christ? There is a sense of urgency since we don't know what tomorrow holds, but what a comfort it would be to know for sure that your sins are forgiven and you are on your way to heaven.

posted by Ben at 9:12 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

Have you ever watched a grocery clerk hold a new 20 dollar bill up to the light? It's important business, because if the money is fake or counterfeit, it has no value. The counterfeiting of US currency is an industry around the world, and everyone of us pay for it. But it is much more catastrophic to follow spiritual counterfeits, in which people have the tendency to do. BEWARE of spiritual counterfeits.

There are many counterfeit messengers about. There was a man in Puerto Rico recently that was claiming to be Jesus Christ, however, we know this man was false. How do we know this, because the things that proceeded out of his mouth were clearly unbiblical and uncharacteristic of God. People were giving this man loads of money, and he willingly accepted it of course. First of all why would Jesus need money. He is a very wealthy man in terms of money, but his poor soul has NOTHING. We see in Chapter 13:1 a beast rise up out of the sea having 7 heads and 10 horns and full of blasphemy. Sounds similar to the dragon we read about in Revelation 12:3. In 13:3 the beast appears to be wounded, however is healed, and all the people that witnessed the healing were marveled by this. And the people fall before the dragon and the beast and worshiped. The beast is a counterfeit messenger. Are there counterfeit messengers on earth today? Absolutely. How do we identify these false messengers? Here are some characteristics of these false spiritual teachers: They are angry and controlling, not loving, and giving. They seek revenge and hold grudges. They are interested in glorifying themselves or glorifying others in a very inappropriate manor. They will speak blasphemies. What is blasphemy? It is claiming to be equivalent to God or claiming falsehoods about God.

These counterfeit prophets, messengers, messiahs, or masters as they claim will perform false miracles. Have any of you ever seen David Copperfield or a magician perform tricks? They have merely mastered the art of performing illusions, making your eye believe what they want you to see. In a sense that is what we will see with these counterfeit spiritual leaders. In Revelation 13:11 we see a second beast come up out of the earth, but notice how it says he had two horns like a lamb. Who else in the bible is referred to as a lamb? Jesus of course, however we know Jesus is not a beast, therefore this beast with two horns as a lamb represents a false messiah. It may appear as Jesus, but notice the last part of verse 11, for he spoke as a dragon. In Revelation 13:13-14 we see that the second beast makes wonders and fire come down from Heaven, but notice it says in the sight of men, meaning it isn't necessarily real, but causes men to see what he wants them to see. The beast uses these false miracles to gain power and authority and trick people into believing he is all powerful, notice it then says that the beast commands the people on earth to create an image of the beast. God's second commandment reads as follows from Exodus 20:4, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." So we see the beast or false prophet directly violating God's law which in itself makes it counterfeit. The miracles are intended to manipulate and trick people, the miracle itself may have good intent, but if it is not glorifying God it is false. What do I mean by that? Well if someone claims they can heal a crippled person, or make a blind man see, but then commands you to worship an image of a dragon, then the miracle was not divinely inspired and doesn't glorify God therefore it is false, it is fake, and it is counterfeit. How do we recognize counterfeit miracles? The persons character is false, blaspheme, and contradict the will of God.

We see these counterfeit messengers say counterfeit messages. In Revelation 13:5-6 we see that they speak "great things" and blasphemies. They speak ill of God and his tabernacle or God's dwelling place. They will typically have a defamatory message, contradictory message, or a self seeking message. They are lusting for control and domination.

I don't know how to differentiate these beasts or dragons, however, I can give you the root of them, and that is Satan. Satan will feed you lie after lie to deceive you just as he did in the garden with Adam and Eve. One of the biggest lies that he tells us is this, "God can't use a person like you, remember all the bad things you have done, God can't and doesn't need you." We must not buy into that lie, Christ already paid the penalty for all our transgression and iniquities, all we need to do is accept that gift which is salvation and trust Christ, and serve Him faithfully until we go to be with our Father in heaven. We need to be aware in our spiritual lives that we are consuming the truth and not buying into the lies of the devil. Satan is very deceiving, and will often try and trick you, but if you hold the truth of God in your heart you will know how to see these counterfeit leaders and lies. That is why it is important to read the bible and get to know God, and his truths. There will be a day when many are deceived by the devil and will perish or die and eternal death in a place called Hell. Do you have your spiritual guard up?

posted by Ben at 8:46 AM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

Revelation 12 relates the battle of the ages between Satan and God, and focusing upon Jesus Christ and Israel. In the middle of this chapter is a wonderful word of praise about how the brethren will become victorious over Satan. These are important truths that are important in helping us become over-comers. You can become an over-comer.

These versus are metaphorical being that they represent something. In verse 1 we see a wonder in heaven, or a sign. It is a woman clothed with the sun, moon and twelve stars, and she is bearing a child. The woman being spoken of is Israel. If we read on we see another wonder or sign, which is a dragon with seven heads and ten horns but if we skip over to verse 9 we see who the dragon represents, and that is Satan himself. We see that the dragon drew or brought a third of the stars or angels in heaven and cast them upon the earth. We see in verse 5 a description of a man who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, this is obvious for it is Jesus. And we see that the Devil was seeking to kill Jesus upon arrival. We see in verse 7 a war in heaven, in which Michael and his angel fought against the dragon and the of course God's army of Michael and his soldiers defeat Satan. This all seems like a lot to take in, but I can asure you it is real, but what you have to realize is there are many things happening behind the scene so to speak, more than meets the eye. There is a spiritual world, one that is very active, and we as humans cannot see it and things like this are hard to comprehend because we can't see it.

I want to focus on verse 10 and 11. We see that the power of God through salvation through Christ. Salvation means to be rescued, we were taken out of fellowship with God when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. They ate of the forbidden fruit and God pronounced judgment upon them. God told them if they eat they will surely die, God was talking about spiritual death or separation from God. God dwelled with Adam & Eve in the garden as they had direct access to God, they had perfect fellowship with God, and they for lack of a better term, they blew it. Since then we have endured sin, after sin after sin after sin. The only thing that restores our fellow ship to God is the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This is God's grace bestowed upon us, this is his gift to us, in John 3:16 we see that for God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish (die), but have everlasting life. God loves us, and he wants fellowship with us, but God is also a just God in that he hates sin. We must confess our sin, repent to God and he will rescue us. In Romans 10:9-10 Paul tells us that if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe on him with all thy heart, you shall be saved. You see to overcome Satan's evil plan to devour you, you must over come his power. How do we accomplish that?

Verse 11 sums up how we become overcomes. You over come all by the shed blood of Jesus, there is much power in the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the Lamb provides victory over sin. The blood washes us and cleanses us from our iniquities. The blood forgives us of our transgression. But we must repent, ask God to forgive us, and wash us with Christ's blood.

We over come Satan by our testimonies. If you look in today's business world, what is the #1 form of marketing? It is marketing by word of mouth or recommendations. A testimony of a believer can show the power of God in their life to a non-believer. A testimony to a believer is like a steroid, it only builds our faith makes us stronger. Testimonies are powerful, but they will all lead back to the root of the testimony, which is saved by grace, saved by the shed blood of Jesus. The bible is like a testimony, it tells us of historic events that took place and their outcomes. The bible gives us testimony of the future, what is to come, and what will happen, it is the living word of God. The bible is God's communication to us, when we open the bible we are somewhat face to face with God.

Another way we over come Satan and his evilness, is the quality of your love. You see the quality of your love is determined by the quality of the cherished object. What more precious object do we have than Jesus Christ. The quality of your love is measured by what you are willing to sacrifice for that object. We are blessed to suffer for the one that suffered for us. In the last part of verse 11 we see John speak of not loving their lives unto death. What does that mean? It means to not love this physical world and the things there of, to not love your fleshy life, for your true treasure is in heaven worshiping the King for ever and ever, that is eternal life. The key to spiritual victory is to abandon your love for your self and endure sacrifice for Jesus. That means get rid of your selfishness and pride, be selfless, and giving for that is true love.

posted by Ben at 9:35 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

We must trust God with every facet of our lives. God is the only one that will never let you down, He is always with you, knows you better than you know you, and will be there when you fall, and rejoice with you when you are well. Our problem as logical thinking human beings is that we don't trust God. Some of us have trusted on Jesus for salvation, but when it comes to finances, we think we know better than God. Notice I said trust ON Jesus, not in Him. This indicates that we trust Jesus, we depend on him for our salvation, we rely on his mercy and comfort, that is what faith is. We must believe on Jesus.

Trusting God is an act of faith. Think about it, when someone is on the verge of death, we turn to God. When there is turmoil like the events of 911, we turn to God, when there is great catastrophe we turn to God, why can't we turn to Him for counsel, for guidance, for wisdom in every aspect of our lives. That means that we must ask God what He wants us to do with His money, it isn't our money, He allows us to have our paycheck. We must be good stewards of His money. We must trust Him with our fears. What is your greatest fear? Death? Public speaking? We don't trust God with fears, because we think that we know better, or that we can do a better job if we rely on ourselves. How about guidance for raising our children? We live in a society where we listen to people like Dr. Phil and Oprah for instruction on raising our children, who would know better? No other but the Ultimate Father Himself? We need to trust that He will guide us, we have the Bible which is the inspired word of God. When you open your bible you are face to face with God and we can learn about Him. Because in the end, what is the root cause that we don't trust God, because we don't know Him. Do you trust a stranger to baby sit your kids? Probably not, but we have the word of God, He speaks to us through His word, and if we don't read, then we don't hear, if we don't hear, we don't get to know Him, and if we don't get to know Him, we won't trust Him, and if we don't trust Him, we are doomed for an eternal death in a place called Hell.

In verse 3 we see how to trust the Lord. We keep Him in perfect peace, or in perfect relationship. The next line says "whose imagination is stayed on thee. If we keep our focus on God, and His word, and His promises, we will see His blessing and trust on Him. Verse 4 says to trust in the Lord forever. We are commanded to trust on the Lord forever. In the Lord is everlasting strength. We need this strength, to keep us going, to keep us motivated to serve Him. Lord is God's name, which is equivalent to Jehovah, which means "I am". When the Lord spoke to Moses at the burning bush, and Moses asked God what he is to tell the Egyptians about whom sent him, God told Moses to tell them, I am that I am sent you. That is God saying, I am the only God, I am the one you trust, I am the one that created all, I am the God of all. That is the perfect God that we can trust, with all in our lives. Trust God with all, and trust on Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and everlasting eternal life.

posted by Ben at 8:17 AM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

Have any of you ever heard of the analogy of life to a race? You know the "race of life"? In verse 1 we see the bible speak of a race that is set before us. The race begins the day of your salvation and your walk with the Lord. For some of us it will be a short race and a long race for others. The point of this race isn't to win, but to finish well.

However in order to run a race we must be in a healthy spiritual condition. Verse one specifies we are to lay aside every weight, and the sin which beset us. We can't run a race if we have excessive weight. We can't be indulged in our lives, to the point that we forget our primary purpose on this earth, which is to bring glory to God. This week at church we had a TV fast, and it being the playoff season was hard for many. It is not that the TV itself is evil, some of things on TV may be evil, but the TV is a distraction that may keep us from focusing on our primary purpose. I am guilty of falling into being a slave of my TV and computer, and this is something that the Lord is working with on me. When you get rid of these distractions and place God before all even yourself, you will be in good spiritual health to run the race. A part of being in good spiritual health is being unselfish and sharing. We must share the gospel with others and tell them of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Luke 10:2 tells us that we need to have more laborers to help with the harvest. God is and is always working in peoples hearts, they are ready for harvest, but we as Christians need to take the gospel of Jesus to everyone, for we don't know who is ready for harvest, but God does. Serving God is part of the race. We have to not only get rid of excess weight and sin, but we need to serve, because this life isn't about ourselves, it is about glorifying God.

There are many that have gone to glory with our Father in heaven that have finished the race well. In verse 1 we see a cloud of witnesses. These people are not just witnesses but martyrs or testifiers, that are watching the race. They have finished their course already and have gone to heaven. In 2 Timothy 4:6-8 we see Paul talking about his death at hand, but he basically says in verse 7 that he has finished the race well, and in verse 8 we see his reward. Wouldn't it be nice to say that we have ran a good race as we see death around the corner? Because death means eternal life with God.

In verse 1 we see that we must run with patience or faith for the race that is set before us (verse 2) looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus is our motivation, inspiration, and strength. Just as the runner concentrates on the finish line, we should concentrate on Jesus, the goal and objective of our faith. Jesus has already run the race and finished well, as He sits at the right hand of the Father. It briefly shows the race that Jesus finished, (verse 2) Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God.

Maybe you haven't begun your race, I encourage you to really evaluate your life and maybe see there is more to this life than your pleasure on this earth. There is much more, but your eyes have to be open, your excess weight has to be lost and most of all your sin must be forgiven, by none other than Jesus. And if you have started your race, stand fast, and keep your faith till the day we meet our Father in heaven.

posted by Ben at 8:07 AM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

We must live worthy of the Gospel. What do I mean by that? Our life styles should be in accordance to what we read from scripture which is the inspired word of God. If you have already professed faith in Jesus Christ, and accepted the fact that he died for your sins, and that his shed blood alone is the only way for you to receive salvation, then you are saved. If you are truly saved, your works will be defined by your true salvation. Some people say that works and salvation go hand in hand, and you can't have one with out the other. The bible says, your salvation will bring good works. James 2:18 says that your faith will be shown by your works, but it is faith alone that achieves salvation. Think about it, Jesus died, and paid the penalty for your sin, and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. If you say that your good works save you, then you are saying that Jesus died on the cross for nothing. 1 Corinthians 1:18 tells us that the story of the cross to those who perish is foolishness, but to those who are saved it is the power of God.

So are you living a lifestyle that reflects the Gospel? How do we achieve that?

If we read in Philippians 1:27, we see that we must stand fast. There are lots of churches that used to preach the about Jesus and salvation, and now they are more concerned with throwing rock concerts and recruiting certain individuals to their church. Why did these churches not continue in truth? Because they didn't stand fast to the true word of God. We have to be strong in our faith, we have to work our faith muscles out. How you ask? We have to pray many times a day, read our bibles daily, and most of all, we need to repent of our sin, this will restore our relationship with God. It is not easy, but we must live it, it is the faith that will give us the strength. God not only sent His Son to die on the tree and pay the debt of our sin, but then he sent us the Holy Ghost, so that we might be comforted and strengthened. We can walk with Him daily if we choose to, if we live a life style that puts God as first priority above all. We read on in verse 28, and Paul talks of a token or omen, the omen is the continual rejection of salvation by faith will lead to destruction of the church, and for those who have true salvation and are persecuted for it, it is a true sign of the genuineness of their salvation. In verse 29 we see that we must not only believe on Jesus, but we must also suffer for him. Being in suffering is a blessed place to be, because those who are suffering will always seek God for comfort and healing, those who are rich, wealthy and have perfect health, will believe they achieved that from living smart, and they won't seek the Lord and come to know him (Luke 16:19 - 31). We ought to suffer for the One who suffered for us. In verse 30 we see Paul speaking of the conflict we saw, referring to when Silas and Paul were thrown in prison for preaching the gospel of Jesus, and at midnight there was an earthquake and the guard asked Paul, "What must I do to be saved?", Paul replied "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:24 - 31).

Finally in Philippians Chapter 2:12, Paul tells the church to revive by preaching the gospel and leading others to Christ, obey and submit to God with fear and trembling.

posted by Ben at 8:04 AM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

Which "one day" does your life focus upon? What day in your future do you most think about and prepare for? We must focus our present lives on the day when Jesus will come. What do I mean by that? Think about what day you long for right now. Is it a wedding anniversary, for kids its birthdays and Christmas, and some long for the day they grow up and leave for college, and some people long for the day they retire and so forth. What if Jesus came tomorrow? Would you be prepared? Would have maybe made some different choices in the past week, or month, or year?

You see its not about if Jesus will come again, its about when, because he is coming. We have to be prepared, and live like He is coming! We get so caught up with the distractions of life, like the TV, Basketball games, Football games, entertainment, and things of the world, that it removes our focus away from Jesus. I think as Americans we are inclined to be more lazy and selfish in the fact that we have so many luxuries that we want everything in life to be easy. The fact is that this life isn't about ourselves, it is about glorifying the one who created us. Even churches have lost focus, and made it like a contest to see how many people they can get going to their church, however they are using things such as rock concerts and parties and things that appeal to the lust of man to do this, when the only reason should be that we want to go to worship our Savior Jesus. The term "Christian" is thrown around pretty loosely today, however the term means "little Christ". That's a pretty big title to fill, however we if we call ourselves Christian, we ought to live and be Christian, and to be Christian is no easy task. Our sinful nature discourages us from being true Christians. Being a Christian is simply acknowledging that we are sinners and we need a Savior that is Jesus Christ who can cleanse us with his shed blood on the cross, and there is nothing we can do to otherwise for the forgiveness of our sin.

We see in Revelation that the world is on the cusp of judgment and chapter 11 is about the second coming of Jesus. Our almighty God, is holding back right now and allowing us this age of grace. In verse 15 of Revelation chapter 11 we see the seventh angel about to sound his trumpet. The number seven may be significant, but without getting into to much detail, it would appear this is a number of completion, as in the 7 day creation. It means this is the final judgment that will finish God's plan, a day of completion. As the angel sounds the trumpet we see the day of transformation of the rebellion of this world to the Kingdom of God.

In verse 16 - 17 we see that this will be a day of worship. The four and twenty elders are representative of the church of true believers, as they fall to their face and worship God for is almighty power which will endure forever and ever. This is they day we ought to long for, the day we are with God in heaven, worshiping him and rejoicing.

In verse 18 we see that this will be a day of action, wrath and reward. We see that the nations will be angry. Why you ask? Why do people hate Jesus? Why do people hate God? One of the most common reasons is that people in their prideful states don't want to be told they are sinners. I can agree with this because I used to be one of them. I have been granted mercy and grace as I have come to know the Lord, and pray for those who don't know Him, because the judgment and punishment of the earth in the future will be unimaginable. However God will reward those who fear Him. What do I mean by that? The best way I can give an illustration is a broken family who goes to church and pretends all is okay and acts a certain way in front of their peers at church when in fact they are anything but the way they act at church. They fear what man will think of them and how man will judge them. We need not fear man, we must fear our God, and obey our God with loving hearts. Christianity is anything but easy, and Christians aren't here to judge, we are merely honest to admit we are broken and need God to fix us, more specifically we need Jesus our only high priest and Jesus only to cleanse us of our sin.

Are you living like Jesus is coming?

posted by Ben at 9:07 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

People are often inspired by historical events and characters to accomplish great things and make great sacrifices. This particular passage gives an example to follow, not in historical characters, but in future ones. We must be bold in our service of the King.

God calls us all in His own will. Sometimes we get selfish and prideful and think that we know better. Our God of the universe who made all and knows all and with His sovereignty controls all, knows more than we can possibly even comprehend, knows better than we do. We should always seek God's will in every facet of our lives. We should also listen for when He calls us as God called his 2 witnesses in verse 3. You might think, well God will give those 2 witnesses power to prophecy. This chapter of revelation is a prophecy that John wrote, and we can share it with others. You see the word witness in Greek is martyr or testifier, someone who sees and tells.

God commissions us all to represent Him before others. You may think why would God use me to tell others. First of all God commands us to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to all (Matthew 28:19). Second, God can use anyone that so chooses, including you. God used Moses, who murdered an Egyptian to lead many Jews out of Egypt across the desert. God used David who committed adultery and murder to bring glory to his name. God used Jonah who was full of anger to bring revival to many. God can use you, if you just trust and obey.

God accompanies His Word with supernatural power. We see that these witnesses were given power to have fire come from their mouth, and for there not to be rain or to bring plagues to the earth. You have to remember it is God that is granting the power.

God also protects those that he calls. God protects us and never gives us anything we can't handle. Remember Paul was stoned and left for dead, but the Lord didn't let him die, instead Paul continued his missionary work. God is perfect in what he allows in our lives. We see that He protects the 2 witnesses until their duty is complete.

God sometimes allows the world perceived victory for His own purpose. We see that God allowed the witnesses to be killed by beast of the bottomless pit. We also see that they were left dead on the city streets for 3 days. We would assume that the beast is victorious however God is always victorious. Sometimes God allows these things to happen to bring testimony to unbelievers.

God will always be victorious. We see that the 2 witness rose from the dead and stood up. Then they were called up to heaven and ascended up. This is almost like the 3 day resurrection of Christ. This just shows how God is all sufficient and perfect with his plan.

posted by Ben at 8:49 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

It is quite amazing to think that the God of the universe would bother to communicate with us. But He has done so, and in marvelous ways. We must listen and respond to His revelation to us. Revelation is basically how God is revealing Himself to us.

We can see and understand a little about our God by reading Psalm 19. This tells us of Gods great power, and goodness, beauty and most of all love. In Revelation Chapter 10 we see an angel descend from heaven that will give us revelation of God. Some say this is actually Christ Himself, however if we read verse 6 we see that the Angel swore by Him that liveth forever and ever which is God (Why would Jesus swear by Himself?). This leads us to believe that the angel has been given power from God since he is able to stand on water and earth at the same time, but the indication is that this is an angel and not Jesus Himself. However the angel is bringing us revelation of God.

We also see revelation by means of a profit. If you remember, John has been taken up to heaven to witness these prophecies so that he may write them down so that God's revelation would be preserved for us to see. It is amazing how the bible, a book with 40 different authors, written over a span of 1500 years has been preserved over the years. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the bible has been given to us by inspiration of God. 2 Peter 1:21 tells us that men wrote the bible as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. God has written for us a perfect bible and communication to us that we may obey his commandments and live as he has taught us.

In verse 3-4 we see that the angel cried 7 thunders. John heard a voice from heaven that said not to write these things that the angel had cried. God has placed this in the bible for a reason. He wants us to know that there is more revelation, but maybe it just isn't time for us to know. He always has perfect timing with what he wants us to know.

We see in verse 2 that the angel had a book in his hand. We notice that this book is little and appears to be an open book like that of a normal book, not a scroll type book. The book is to be consumed and will taste sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly. We also see that this may be an international book because John is to prophecy before many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings. This is believed to be the bible. To consume a book means to read a book. The bible is full of prophecies in which some are of good news and some are of bad news. The bad news is to those who are unbelievers.

We are very blessed that we have an all sufficient God who loves us and has given us this revelation along with mercy and a time of grace that we may come to know Him and obey Him.

posted by Ben at 8:49 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

This is one chapter of the bible that is difficult to interpret, which has lead to all kinds of different ideas and speculation. While avoiding the wild speculations, we want to grasp clear life lessons from this passage.

Before we jump into this chapter, I want to take just a couple of seconds and recap what has happened, thus far. John is taken up into heaven, and Jesus is the only worthy one to open the 7 seals. The first six seals were opened and when the 7th seal was opened we see there are 7 "trumpet" judgments, and then we see that the final 3 trumpet judgments are called "woes". Now a woe interpreted as doom to come. In this chapter we will see the first two woes.

The first woe we see is verses 1 - 11. In verse 1 we see that a star falls from heaven and is given the key to the bottomless pit. In the Greek language this is interpreted as fallen star, angels are often referred to as stars. This can lead to speculation that this may be the fallen angel, Satan, or one of Satan's demonic beings in his hierarchy. This fallen angel is granted the keys to the bottomless pit. In verse 3 - 6 we see these locust creatures that come out of the pit and they are to not touch any trees nor grass only torment those men that have not the seal of God on their forehead. Those that don't have the seal of God on their forehead are the unbelievers. They are not to be killed however they are to be tormented to the point of the men seeking death, but they shall not find death. These demonic attacks are to occur for a period of 5 months.

Lets look at the visual description that John gives us about these demonic creatures. Verses 7 - 11 give us this description. They are shaped like a locust and were like horses ready for battle with crowns of gold and the face of a man, hair of a woman, and teeth of a lion, breastplates of iron and their wings mad the sound of chariots and horses running to battle, and they had tails like that of a scorpion with stingers to torment mankind. Their king was that of the bottomless pit named Abaddon or Apollyon which translates to the word destroyer. Take a moment and ponder on this description. We can speculate what this means, but the point of this description is to give terror. This is a terrifying image, and this terrifying demonic creature will torment those unbelievers for 5 months.

Now you might think, big deal, demons attacking mankind. Some people say, well I am going to live it up for now and redeem myself later on, and others say, I will ask for forgiveness on my death bed. This is a very big deal to an unbeliever because they will suffer a great deal and later we will see that they won't repent, and it is impossible for man to redeem themselves. The bible describes these attacks as a scorpion sting, which those of you that live in the dessert are familiar with, the scorpion sting causes a lot of pain.

The sixth trumpet sounds which is also the second woe. The angel that sounded the sixth trumpet was commanded to release the "4 angels" which were bound in the great river Euphrates. These 4 angles that were bound are also part of Satan's army of demons. These angels are going to kill 1/3 of mankind.

These judgments are very horrifying, but sometimes it helps to hear the bad news first. You see we are still in the age of God's grace where we can choose to accept Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of sins, and can avoid these terrifying prophecies that will occur. With all the turmoil going on in the world today, we are still very blessed with God's grace. The moment God decides to remove the grace and begin judgment will be very terrifying. The destiny of mankind is dependent upon the hardness of his own heart, pride and selfishness. We are our own biggest enemy, but we can choose to accept the fact that we can't do anything to save ourselves, redeem ourselves, because God has purchased our pardon by sending His Son to die on the cross for us.

I have heard some say, that when they are on their death bed they will ask for forgiveness, or they will try and redeem themselves later in life. In my opinion that is the biggest excuse and mistake. Notice verse 20 and 21, it goes on to say that even though mankind has seen all this judgment with their own eyes, they still don't repent of their sin. Not everyone has the benefit of "having a death bed". Freak accidents happen where death comes in the blink of an eye, and off you go into eternity, either in hell or heaven. If we look at Luke Chapter 16 verse 19 - 31 we see the story of the rich man who had everything but didn't believe and went to hell, and asked if someone could come back from the dead to forewarn his family to turn to God and he is told that if they haven't heard Moses and the prophets, they won't listen to a person from the dead.

Some people say, well I just don't believe in God because I can't see Him, I want tangible proof of His existence. I don't know if these people have had their eyes closed since birth, but all you have to do is take a look around, look at the sky at the beautiful sunrise that God paints in the morning, or look at all the creatures of the sea that we find, and are still discovering, look at the miracle of life that God creates, this list can go on and on, and that is just the tangible proof. We see evidence of God answering prayers, and giving us blessings and mercy with His grace.

We must respond NOW to the grace of God, before it's too late. The world is full of Satan's works and is very powerful, it is very tempting and can consume you without you even realizing it. It is so important to accept Jesus into your heart and repent now before its too late!

posted by Ben at 8:43 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

The horrors of God's judgment are only surpassed by the glories of His grace. We have, in these two passages, two distinct actions of God with two distinctly different consequences for man. Many refuse to respond to the good news therefore making the direct recipients of the bad news. Will you respond while still able to enjoy the opportunity of God's grace?

As we see in verse 1 there will be a half an hour of silence in heaven. If you remember up until now 6 of the 7 seals have been opened, and now the 7th seal is opened. This silence is almost like the silence before the storm. There is nobody asking for mercy, no glorifying God, no repentance, no judgments, nor commandments being given, it is pure silence.

There is a great sense of fear when the first angel sounds his trumpet. Fire, hail, and blood are cast upon the earth and burns up 1/3 of the trees and all green grass. As the second angel sounds there seems to be a possible asteroid that will be cast into the sea and 1/3 of the sea creatures died and 1/3 of the ships were destroyed. The waves from possible tsunami's would cap size the ships. Loosing 1/3 of trees, all grass and sea life would cause a great famine. This would be a great time of fear.

The third angel sounds and the earth is hit with a great asteroid called "Wormwood" which means bitter. The waters will be hit with this asteroid which may contain possible chemicals and gases that will turn the water bitter. This will be a great time of bitterness and suffering as well. With the tree's burnt up and water turned bitter, and sea life killed, there will be starvation.

There will be a time of separation and disillusionment. Unfortunately many will die due to the famines and earthly terror. Some will die in bitterness and enter eternity separated from God forever. People won't be able to explain these occurrences, and will be forced to look to God for answers. We all remember the terror from the great tsunami in India, and Mt. St. Helens erupting, or maybe hurricane Katrina, I think these will be considered a walk in the park when compared with the wrath and judgment mankind will face upon the earth in the near future.

Many view the book of Revelation as the "scary book of the Bible" that nobody wants to talk about. This may be true, because there is a lot of negative news in this book. To those who are unsaved this is a scary but to those who are saved, this book is would be considered somewhat exciting and motivational to live a life of servitude to our Lord and Savior who will save us from this wrath.

If we turn to the book of Luke Chapter 2 Verse 10 - 14 we will see a positive spin of this chapter from Revelation. We see that the angel says "Fear not" as the angel brought good tidings or good news to "All People" (meaning you and me). The good news is that our Savior was born Jesus. Why do we call him savior? Lets read John 3:16 - 17. God came to earth as man (Jesus), not to condemn the world, but save the world, by walking this earth a sinless man and being the ultimate sacrifice, dying on the cross for all or mankind's sin. He died to save us from our sin. Lets look at Romans Chapter 10 verse 9 - 10, we see that all we have to do is believe on Him and confess our sins, and we will be saved. We can't save ourselves, we can't redeem ourselves, we are completely helpless, Titus Chapter 3 verse 5 tells us it is grace that saves us not our works. We are in the age of grace right now, not the age of judgment, we have a chance right now to accept Jesus in our lives and call upon him so that when we die we will spend eternity with God. Notice in verse 14 in Luke Chapter 2 we see where it says "and on earth peace". This phrase shows up in songs, and people quote this phrase as a means to ending war on the face of this planet. Complete peace from war on earth will never happen. The idea of peace here is a sense of a relationship restoration with God. It is possible to restore your relationship with God and spend eternity with him, all you have to do is call upon his name, and confess your sins, place all your dependence upon Him and you can be saved!

posted by Ben at 3:56 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

The dream of philosophers and idealists throughout the centuries has been to create the perfect society. Plato called it Utopia. Whether through a "War to end all wars" or a "Great Society", or even a "Third Reich", all efforts have failed miserably. The perfect society will only be found in the presence and favor of the perfect Creator. It is the only place of blessing.

Up to this chapter we have seen the first 6 seals opened up. Chapter 7 is a chapter that leads up to the opening of the 7th seal in Chapter 8.

In verse 1 - 3 we see the blessedness of God's mercy. The idea of the angel's holding back the winds from "hurting the Earth" is God holding back his judgment. There will be great destruction upon the earth, however, we are blessed to have a longsuffering and merciful God. Foolish men want immediate judgment and wise men beg for forgiveness and mercy. We should be so thankful for the mercy He has bestowed upon us and learn to be patient as well. We can learn a lot by example from God.

In verse 4 - 8 we see the blessedness of God's call and blessedness of God's preserving power. We see that 144,000 or 12,000 of each of the 12 tribes of Israel will be protected. God selects these individuals and seals or protects them from the great tribulation. We also see in verse 9 that many others of all different ethniticities are also saved during the great tribulation. In verse 13 - 15 an elder that asks John who these people are, and John responds basically saying " you tell me". The elder says they were people which came out of the great tribulation and are here in Heaven and will worship the King forever and ever.

In Verse 10 - 12 we see the blessedness of God's Kingdom. We see the angels bowing down before the throne of God giving thanks and praise. When we go to be with our Father in Heaven we will be praising and glorifying God. Some may think, that sounds "boring", but it will be anything but boring. We see through God's creation the Universe, the planets, the stars, the moons, the galaxies, the earth, the wildlife, the trees, the flowers, the insects, the clouds, the land, the people, in which God created which is absolutely not boring. God is the only one who can paint a perfect sunset, or a perfect sunrise, God created music and weather. We are talking about God who is anything but boring. We will spend eternity learning about God and his creation, giving Him thanks and praise. I can't wait for that day!

We see the blessedness of His grace and mercy in verse 13 - 14. Those that were brought out of the great tribulation were granted mercy. We are given a lot of time, more than we deserve, to give our lives to our God. Time on earth won't last forever, so we ought to take advantage of the time and mercy God has granted us.

We see the blessedness of His presence and promises in verse 15 - 17. We see in verse 15 that God will dwell among us. Imagine that, God will dwell among us in fellowship, that concept is awesome! In His presence we see a place of purpose, we will spend eternity with our Master in Heaven praising, and glorifying him forever. There will be no fatigue, we will serve him day and night. It is a place of provision, we see there will be no hunger nor thirst. The idea of the sun light and heat not being upon us is the idea of God's protection from harm. We will have guidance in his presence, He is our shepherd and will guide us to living fountains of waters. There will be joy, and happiness. We won't have any more tears nor fears. These are all promises that God will keep.

Are you aware of the mercies God has granted you. God knocks at our door, but we are too busy, or have the music to loud, or the TV is on, or we are on the phone with our family or friends and we don't hear the knock. When our lives are filled with worldly "junk" we don't hear when the Holy Spirit tries to talk to us. We need to tone down our selfish lives and let the grace of God into our lives. John 9:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease". The great tribulation is not something you nor your children, or grand children to endure. We must step up and remove the junk from our lives and kids lives and give our lives to our Lord and Savior Jesus. With Jesus we will never fear death, because we have eternal life after death with God, in which we will have the opportunity to dwell with Him in the kingdom of heaven.

posted by Ben at 3:55 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

We enjoy a very fragile life on this little planet of ours. Some of us who have had a family member pass away know that we can be here one moment and gone the next. The bible tells us that life is a mere vapor.

An interesting fact, scientifically and statistically, is that our very existence is "impossible". Some scientists have come to the conclusion that the existence of mankind and this universe are no accident and that there must be an intelligent creator. Those who believe in the creation of all by God the Father, have always known this.

Even then, it is amazing we have not destroyed ourselves completely by now. This proves that God in his sovereignty holds the Earth in the palm of His hand as we are speeding through space at thousands of miles per second, riding the thin crust of a liquid ball of molten rock. All this said, the Bible tells us we won't exist forever. The Lamb of God will one day change everything. You must be secure from the Great Day of the Wrath of the Lamb!

As we continue in Revelation with John's vision of heaven, and God on the throne holding the scroll that only the slain Lamb (Jesus) is worthy to open, we see the breaking of seals. We have seen the process of the first 4 seals opened revealing the following events to come: the rise of the anti-Christ, war, famine and death.

The 5th seal we see the persecution of God's people. There will be martyrs who have kept their faith upon Jesus and are killed for keeping faith, and are given white robes. Those who were killed for keeping faith, ask Jesus "why He has not avenged their death". We see that they are told to hold for a season until all the brethren that will be killed are killed. According to Romans 12:19, we must trust Jesus with "vengeance". He will repay for vengeance is His. This is also indicative that there will be rejection of the testimony of God within mankind.

Then we see the 6th seal opened and there was a worldly catastrophe. Some think that the events described are metaphorical, some think they are literal. However, we do know there will be a world wide catastrophe that will consume a quarter of the Earth's population. We see an earthquake mentioned, and some type of astronomical type of objects will strike the Earth. We see the moon turn to blood, the idea is that the debris in the atmosphere will cause the sun to blacken and the moon to appear in a "redish" blood color. Many will die, as mankind is helpless to this act of God. The bible tells us that every mountain and island will be moved. This will be a world changing catastrophe.

We ought to be thankful that God hasn't pronounced judgment on us yet, and that we have a period of grace so that we may turn to God and seek his face in our fragile lives. We ought to be thankful that he has provided us the bible as a road map of how we are to live and have fellowship with Him. These events might be frightful or even uneasy, but we ought to use this time wisely, for if we have accepted Jesus into our lives as savior for the forgiveness of sins, we need not fear these events. Even though these events are brought upon by God, He is still merciful and gives opportunity for those who will be left to turn to Him. God is full

posted by Ben at 3:49 PM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

In Revelation chapter 5 we see that God, the One who is on the throne, is holding a scroll. We also see that there is nobody that is worthy to open the scroll. There is great sorrow, but then it is reveled to us that the One who was slain is worthy. That is Jesus Christ. He was the perfect sinless lamb that was slain for our sin. He is the one worthy to open the scroll with 7 seals on it.

In Chapter 6 we get a glimpse at what the scroll says. It reveals to us what is to happen here on earth in the future. This is also known as the times of the great tribulation which is to last 7 years. This is also known as the time of judgment. Some seem to think that this is the time where God sits back and just watches, and observes us. That is not correct. God was on the throne yesterday, he is on the throne today, and He will be on the throne tomorrow, in control of the entire universe. God is in control, He is accomplishing his purpose even through the evil that is on the earth.

God's standard is perfection, and we see that we are unable to achieve that standard, and the only means that we are able to defeat our imperfections is through Jesus Christ's blood on the cross (Romans 3:23). That is why it is so vital for you to trust on Jesus for your forgiveness of sins and not of yourselves and of your works. We CANNOT save ourselves. Jesus already paid the price, it is the free gift of God, we just need to accept His precious gift (Romans 6:23 & Ephesians 2:8 - 9 & 1 Peter 1:23 & Titus 3:5 & Acts 16:31). It is never to late to repent, ask God for forgiveness, and trust on Jesus as savior for the forgiveness of all past, present, and future sin.

God will judge according to his perfect timing, we don't know when that will be. Some of us tend to see the world and all its evil, even to the point where we would like to see the judgment come now, so that all that is unjust will be justified. We have all committed sin against God and there are some of us that have had sin committed against us, but we must be patient, and trust God with those sins for he will repay. We need to TRUST that God will repay and take vengeance on those who have sinned against you (Romans 12:19), therefore don't carry grudges and thoughts of revenge. Most important, remember to repent for your sin. God is perfectly just and knows every sin committed against him and against you. He will judge everyone perfectly according to his law and commandments.

We should be thankful that God is longsuffering and that he is merciful because if he had already cast judgment upon us, a lot of people would not be saved, including myself. We should use this time of grace wisely, and not foolishly. God has allowed us this period of grace so that we have time to repent, and so that the gospel of Jesus can reach the ends of the earth. Are you using your time wisely, or are you indulged in sin, or serving other gods?

I used to be indulged in my sin. If God had decided to judge mankind earlier this year, I wouldn't be saved. I was serving other gods and indulged in my sin (not a wise use of my time). I had many gods, I had the god of technology, the god of entertainment, the god of materialism, the god of alcohol, the god of music. For example, I used to be indulged in secular worldly music that teaches us how to indulge in sin and justifies our sin. The worst part of that is that I was forcing it upon my own children. The purpose of the worldly secular music is to justify peoples sin, such as lust, greed, pride, selfishness, and things of that sort (take some time to actually read the lyrics of the music as you will see there is no Godly biblical message that is presented, it is all sinful nature). I now choose not to listen to that music nor sever the purpose of that music. I am tempted at times to listen, but I pray to God to remove the temptation from my life and He has, this is just another example how we can't do things by our works, the only way to defeat the temptation is by way of faith upon Jesus. We need to use our time left here on earth wisely and server God only.

Let's put this chapter into perspective to see what we will expect during the time of judgment and tribulation. Keep in mind, John is in Heaven viewing these things that are to come.

We see in verse two when Jesus opens the first seal, John sees a white horse and he that sat on the horse had a bow and a crown. The white horse is symbolic for a conqueror. The one that is riding is equipped with a bow for battle (a weapon of warfare). The crown symbolizes the earthly authority for this individual. This individual described here is viewed as the anti-Christ. (Understand, God will allow this to happen to serve his own purpose.)

When the second seal is opened John sees a red horse. Notice in verse four we see three powerful phrases. We see "Peace taken from earth (no peace)", "kill", and "sword". The red horse is symbolic for blood shed. When you add up these three ingredients what do we get? War. There will be war during the tribulation.

John saw a black horse when Jesus opened the third seal. The one who sat on the horse was holding a pair of balances with a measure of wheat and a penny in one and three measures of barley and a penny on the other. This is figurative speech for famine. You seen a measure of wheat for a penny is basically one meal for one for one days pay, which is just enough to cause starvation. What comes with starvation? The body gets weak, the immune system is weak, and disease enters. There will be famine.

The forth seal opened by Jesus shows us a pale horse. The name of the one who sat on the horse was Death. Hell followed with him. Notice where it says that "power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword, hunger, death, and with the beasts of the earth", this shows that ¼ of the earths population will be killed by one of these tactics.

When Jesus opened the fifth seal we see that there will be people who will have been killed for having faith on God. If you continue to read, you will see that they will be rewarded with white robes and best of all, spend eternity with our Father in heaven.

Have you ever stopped for a moment to really digest the fact that these things will happen. This isn't some figurative speech or some symbolic thing, these events will happen. There is a heaven and a hell, and when we die we will spend eternity in heaven for believers or in hell FOREVER. This is the time for us to put down our pride, and forgive others, as well as ask God to forgive us of our sin, put away our false gods and idols, wake up and realize that the choice we make will affect the destination of our eternal lives forever. We need to tell others about the gift from God. This is REAL, and these things will happen! Are you ready for this?

posted by Ben at 10:24 AM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

Let me ask you a couple of important questions that I would like you to ponder after you have read from scripture. It will answer these questions.

1. Does God exist?


2. Why do we exist?

If there was no God, the following statements would be true.

• Life would have come by some un-intelligent form.


• Life would have come by an un-purposeful reason.


• Life as we know it would have been a mere accident, you would have been an accident as well as your parents and their parents and so forth.


• Life would be completely pointless.


• There wouldn't be good nor evil, no right nor wrong


• We would basically exist like wild animals in the wilderness, only existing to not endure death.

Since there is a God, then the following statements are true.

• From God is ALL created.


• God created you and, His reason for creating you is the ONLY reason for your existence.


• We as humans have accomplished some of the most difficult break throughs in technology, we consider ourselves to be wise, however there is not one human in this world capable of creating life, nor creating a universe, or stars and planets, nor animals, insects, sea creatures, or even capable of governing the weather or seasons or time, or capable of making a beautiful sunset or flower.


• Therefore there must be a God that created all!


• God is the head of all, He makes the rules, and He will judge those who break His rules.
  It is interesting to hear individuals that don't believe in God. They simply choose to deny Him, however, if they acknowledge right and wrong, or good and evil, they are acknowledging God. Since they are acknowledging God's laws of good and evil they are in a sense acknowledging God. God has a plan for all of us, He also has a "big picture" plan that we all fit into including non-believers, and in His sovereignty He can still use those that deny Him, in his plan for all of man kind until the end of the ages. Whether or not you believe, God will use you in his plan for the purposes of glorifying Himself

This leads me to the age old question. Why do we exist? We just answered that. God created us to glorify Him (Isaiah 43:7). Whether or not you choose to follow and trust in Jesus, God will use us to bring glory to His name, and judge those who don't. Those who honor and glorify Him will be rewarded with a crown in heaven (2 Timothy 4:8).

Do you look forward to the end of the age? You should. In fact, even the troubles and trials for the events that will come are a sign of hope to a true believer. Are you a true believer?

We need to understand that there is more to this age than what we can see. The plan for the completion of the age is in place. Are you ready?

As we see in this chapter of scripture (Revelation 5), John is envisioning heaven, with our creator God in the throne. In God's right hand He holds the scroll with the plan that will determine what will come. An angel asks to all "who is worthy to break the seal". From the indication it is a scroll with wax seals on it as in times of old. No man in heaven, nor in earth, nor under the earth was worthy or able to open the book that would initiate God's final plan. Not having God's plan enacted is cause for sorrow. That is why it saddened John. This was an acknowledgement that there is no one capable of accomplishing what we truly desire in heaven or in earth. This shows that we are not worthy, there are none righteous among us (Romans 3:10). We are all sinners and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

An elder then told John not to weep because "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, the Slain Lamb, Jesus" was worthy to break the seal. When Jesus took the scroll, all believers that are in heaven gave praise, honor and glory, and sang "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation: And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

We need to look to Jesus as the only solution to our hearts' desire. Don't look to things of this world that have no Godly foundation. Some people watch Dr. Phil, or Oprah, or turn to their co-workers for advise, maybe even take faith in things like superstition, chain letters, or chain emails, turn to drugs or alcohol for solutions. People say it's okay to have a small sip of beer to drown your sorrows as long as you don't get drunk, or it's okay to hear a nice easy listening country song that will help you feel better. Can I tell you something? This is all false belief, false comfort and it is direct disobedience to God our Father. Not to mention that if we are to represent our Lord and Savior to non-believers, this isn't the way to do that. If you don't have Jesus in your life, you will live a life of emptiness and sorrow. When you learn to fear God and submit yourself to Him, you will live a life of humbleness, and be fulfilled more than you can imagine. Have you accepted the will of God in your life? Have you submitted to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin? Are you ready for God's plan of the future to come?

In conclusion yes there is a God, and our purpose for existence is to glorify Him. Everything we do whether it be eat, or sleep, or work or play, we need to do to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). God is on the throne today, and He will be on the throne tomorrow and forever and God will carry out His plan for this age whether or not you are ready.

posted by Ben at 10:19 AM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

There are 3 suggested times for the rapture to take place.

1. The trouble times described in Revelation Chapter 4 - 19 have either happened or are happening in this current age.



2. The Troubled Times described Revelation Chapter 4 - 19 will yet happen in the future and Christians (the Church) will endure some or all of it.



3. The Troubled Times described Revelation Chapter 4 - 19 will yet happen in the future and Christians (the Church) will be preserved from it by the Rapture. These are a few reasons why we believe that this view is the correct view.


• There is no mention of the Church in chapter 4 - 19 of Revelation. The first 3 chapters were distinctively all about the Church. This transition may be indicative that we will not endure what is described in these chapters.


• The description of the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 indicates a meeting in the air which isn't mentioned in Revelations, however Christ's return is mentioned in these chapters which would indicate that he will be coming down from Heaven to rule the Earth, but the Bible doesn't mention that we will meet in the air upon his return, which would ultimately indicate that the rapture will occur prior to the tribulation period.


• The prophecies of Daniel have all happened according to scripture, the seventieth week has not occurred. At least there is no historical event that we can match up with the literal prophecy that Daniel has provided. This indicates that the seventieth week has not occurred. However if we look at the promise that he gave to the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation Chapter 3:10, which explains to the Church that has kept His word, that they will be kept from the hour of temptation. This could possibly mean that the rapture will happen prior to the seventieth week which is the final seven year tribulation.

There is a day coming when your view of everything will radically change. Your perspective will change from an earthbound one to a heavenly one. God has given us enough of a view of the future, so that our perspective can change now, in anticipation of that day.

In Chapter 4 of Revelation we see that John is taken up to heaven. John's perspective is changed from an earthly perspective to a heavenly one. John see's a new view of God. John described a throne which indicates God is our true King, Lord, and Master. He is our creator. If you just take a short moment to notice a sun set, or the clouds in the morning during a sunrise, a rosebush, or even our beautiful stars, you would have to agree that there is a God, we aren't him, and that he is ruler and creator of all. The funny part that is hard to understand is why He chooses to love us. After all, God doesn't need us, He is self sufficient. I don't know the why to that question, but that tells us that He is a merciful, patient, and loving God. After all He did give us his only son to die for our sins. How many of you would give up your child for a stranger, or strangers. If you or someone you know doesn't believe there is a God, one day you will know, everyone will bow down to our King. John describes God as jasper and a sardine stone, which indicates God is beautiful.

John has a new view of the Church. John describes four and twenty seats, and four and twenty elders sitting down with crowns. This can be interpreted in a couple different ways, however if we look at Revelation 5:9 we see that this will probably be all believers. The crowns on their heads can be indicative as a token or reward for having faith and believing on God. The white raiment or robs is a sign of washed or cleansed.

John also has a new view of Angels. They are described as 4 beasts full of eyes. These beasts or creatures are Angelic creatures giving glory and praise to God.

The elders cast their crowns at before God as he sits on the throne and worship Him. The elders as mentioned earlier are, us!

The most important question is, are you ready? Are you for sure that your sins are forgiven and you are on your way to heaven? The Bible, or God's breathed word teaches us that we must believe on Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, for our salvation. We must depend on Jesus and Jesus only, not "mans rules". There are two eternal locations where we could potentially spend eternity. Heaven or Hell, there is no gray area. Are you ready?

posted by Ben at 10:03 AM
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****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

The end is near, but we don't know exactly the day Jesus will come again. God has a blueprint for mankind, and we will take a look at the blueprint to help us understand that we are near the end of time, more than we think.

In order to help us see the "big picture" of God's blue print lets look at Daniel Chapter 9 Verse 23 - 27. This is a prophecy that God has given to Daniel about the future.

Before we begin, we need to put on our mathematical thinking caps. When we see the word "week", this is a term used in Greek that means "seven". The word "threescore" means 60.

In verse 24, it says seventy weeks or seventy "sevens". So using our mathematical caps, we can determine that 70 x 7 = 490 or 490 years. We can also think of this is 70 sets of 7 years. Daniel has prophecied that the end of all, will be after the 70 sets of 7 years are over. He says that this will end all transgression and sin, and make reconciliation for iniquity and bring in everlasting righteousness.

In verse 25 Daniel tells us that the time from the decree authorizing the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of Jesus the messiah shall be 7 weeks, and threescore and two weeks. 7 x (7 + 60 +2) = 483 or 483 years. The authorization to re-build Jerusalem was granted around 458 BC, and if we add 483 yeas to that it would put time around 25 AD. Jesus was born around 5 AD, which would have made Jesus around 30 years of age in 25 AD around the time he was baptized and starting his ministry.

In Verse 26 we see the prophecy of the crucifixion of Christ ("shall Messiah be cut off). It says he will be cut off, or executed, he doesn't die of natural causes or anything else. Notice it also says "not for himself", meaning he died for us. The "prince' that is being spoken of is the anti-Christ. All of this prophecy up until this point has happened, and was spoken of roughly 500 years before it happened. This goes to show how God keeps His word and that what was written was truly inspired of God.

The prophecy in which mostly concerns us is written in Verse 27. Daniel is explaining how the anti-Christ will confirm the covenant (peace treaty) with many (Israel and other nations) for one week, or one set of seven years. This set of seven we are speaking of is the last set of sevens that is revealed in the prophecy. Remember in verse 25 we have 490 years that will encompass mankind, in verse 25 we have 483 years that predicted the coming of Jesus along with his resurrection and the demolishment of Jerusalem. Now once again with our mathematical thinking cap 490 - 483 = 7. We are not currently in the last seven years, however when the anti-Christ confirms a peace treaty with Israel and other nations, we know we are in the final 7 years. Notice it goes on to say that in the midst (middle) of the week he (anti-Christ) shall cause the sacrifice and the offering of peace to cease and there will be a time of tribulation or great suffering for the remainder of the seven years. So to summarize where we are, we are between the 69th week and the 70th week. The end is truly upon us, are you ready? Are you truly ready? God WILL finish what He started.

We started out reading Revelation Chapter 2 - 3, which is relevant. If we look at Revelation Chapter 1 verse 19 we see what Jesus is asking of John. Jesus asks John to write the "things which he has seen (things of past Revalation Chapter 1)", also "the things which are (things present Revalation Chapter 2 - 3)", and also "things which shall be hereafter (things to come or Revelation Chapter 4 - 22)".

God has given us specific expectations in His Church in this age. He has given us the great commission which is read in Matthew Chapter 28 Verse 19 - 20, we are to go out and teach all nations the gospel. God has also given us supernatural resources through the Holy Spirit.

In Chapter 2 - 3, there are observations and commandments that are to be sent to the 7 churches. We will briefly cover them.

To the church of Ephesus - Maintain your first love, which is love of Christ. Don't get caught up in miniscule, worldly, trivial details, or false doctrines, always honor thy first love which is Jesus. God's standard is perfection, and the world's standard is "scraping the bottom of the barrel", we need to be more Christ like and not lower ourselves to the standards of the world.

To the church of Smyrna - this is also known as the persecuted church. They faced much tribulation and persecution, but Jesus promised the faithful unto death, a crown of life. You know we who are persecuted and face trials and tribulation are blessed. How you may ask? When we face trials, we will always turn to God for comfort, answers and healing. Humility and suffering is a blessed place to be.

To the church of Pergamum - Avoid worldliness, false doctrines, and false idols. It is so important to be strict, and have strict Godly morals, we need to be role models for all especially our kids, after all our kids will be raising our grand kids. If and where possible, don't go along with things because the World says its okay, make sure it is biblical, make sure it is authorized by our Father, God. We should live in obedience to our Father, creator, the One who sent His son to die for our transgression so that we may have a direct relationship and walk with Him everyday.

To the church of Thyatira - Cleanse yourself from false teaching. Always be on guard for false teaching. In Sunday school we were discussing that the penalty for false teaching in the Old Testament was death. Some may say that is a harsh penalty, but if you think about it, they took it upon themselves to falsely steer someone into eternal death, which is worse than physical death, it is separation from God and as the book of Revelation refers to it, "the lake of fire". Always remember to repent!

To the church of Sardis - Wake up from spiritual deadness. We always need to thirst for God. We need revivals, we need to come to know Jesus, because he is coming like a thief in the night. We need to be ready!

To the church of Philadelphia - Go through God's open doors. They have kept God's word and guarded it. The have a crown of life waiting for them. This may also be known as the missionary Church or the Holy Church.

To the church of Laodicea - Despise deceitful comforts. Don't lay up treasures here on Earth (Matthew 6:19-20), lay up treasure in heaven. True wealth and richness comes from the love of and the love for God.

Our opportunities for Earthly service are limited, we must use our time wisely. James 4:14 says that our lives are mere vapors, we are here but only for a short time. Our lives are limited and the age is limited. The end is near, lets be ready for our Saviors return!

Are you saved? Do you know for sure that your sins are forgiven by the death of Jesus and not of your works? If you were to die tomorrow, would you spend eternal life in Heaven with God? Would you like to know?

If you are ready to accept Jesus, you can pray the following prayer, or if you would like to talk to me about this, or have questions please contact me. The prayer itself is NOT magical, it is merely something you would pray to God when you are ready to accept Jesus as your personal savior, for the forgivness of your past, present, and future sins. If you are TRULY ready pray the following with the utter most sincerity.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I know I deserve the judgment of Hell. But I also know that You paid my judgment when you died for me and rose again. The best I know how, I'm asking You to save me from sin and Hell. I am placing my dependence only on You to forgive my sins, credit Your righteousness to my account, and give me eternal life. Thank you Jesus, for saving me.

Always remember to repent, always ask God to forgive your sins!

Remember, share this with someone that you love, or even a co-worker, or the mailman. The world isn't full of people, it is full of souls and God's commandment is to witness this to others.

posted by Ben at 8:21 PM
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