The Restoration of All Things

During the time prior to the Great Tribulation, God will allow the anti-Christ to bring peace to global conflict and to conquer the world by his cunning political methods. In addition, God will send strong delusion on anyone who did not receive the love of His Truth in order to be saved. They will believe the anti-Christ’s deception and take pleasure in wickedness. God will bring judgment on these rebellious people (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

In spite of Satan’s promises through the anti-Christ, the world will experience widespread famine, pervasive human and animal loss, the wholesale martyrdom of Israeli believers in Christ, unparalleled earthquakes and fires and cosmic disturbances, the contamination of the world’s water supply, diminished light from the sun and moon and stars, terrible plagues, and angelic forces who use a demonic army to destroy even more of the earth’s population (Revelation, Ezekiel, Daniel).

Once God purges the earth of evil, He creates a new eternal heaven and earth, which will eclipse the beauty and splendor of our current world (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). He will establish His Kingdom on the earth and we will serve Him (Revelation 22:3). God will restore to His beloved Saints everything which Adam and Eve relinquished to Satan in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1; Revelation 20-21).

God does not send good people to heaven and bad people to hell. In fact, God never sends anyone to hell, nor does He condemn us (John 3:16-17). We actually condemn our self to hell by our unbelief (John 3:18; 1 John 3:21).  Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan’s lie, rather than God’s truth, and most of mankind has followed suit ever since. God’s benevolent plan for mankind from the beginning of time, and still is for us to spend eternity with Him in His Paradise.

Prayer:

Father God, You love us so much that You sent Your only begotten Son to save us from the penalty of our sins. You never send judgment without first sending a warning. In fact, You gave us Your prophets, apostles, pastors, evangelists and teachers to remind us about the truths of Your Word. Thank You for giving us the opportunity to repent of our sins and to receive the saving work, which Jesus Christ obtained for us on Calvary’s cross.

Though for the Day:

Jesus returned to Heaven until the time comes for Him to restore all things to Himself. - Acts 3:21

Angels Watching Over Us

When we dwell in the secret place of the Most High God, we have angels assigned to us (Hebrews 1:14). God gives His angels charge over us, to guard us wherever we go; they even lift us up in their hands, if we are about to come to harm (Psalm 91:11-12; Luke 4:10). Our angels are continually in the presence of God and He gives them the ability to influence and to protect our life (Matthew 18:10).

Angels announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds (Luke 2:1-20). They even came to strengthen Jesus in His time of need on the mountain after His fast; and also, in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His crucifixion (Matthew 4:6-11; Luke 22:43). Angels guarded Jesus' tomb after He rose, and they gave a message to the women who came to care for Jesus' body (John 20:11-12).

In modern times, people are enamored by angels. They pray to or talk to their angel, worship them, buy paintings of them to protect their home and wear little angel lapel pins as a good luck charm. This is not Biblical and is taking the ministry of angels way too far. This is giving our worship to angels, which belongs to God alone (Colossians 2:18).

Angels are created beings and existed prior to the creation of mankind (Job 38:4-7). There are various ranks of and purposes for angels. Some of them have no other purpose than to worship God around His throne, both day and night (Revelation 4:8). They shout for joy and praise God in His presence (Job 38:7; Revelation 5:11-12). They rejoice in heaven every time one sinner repents on earth (Luke 15:10).

Angels are messengers, and will also be used during the Great Tribulation to bring the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people of the earth (Revelation 14:6; Matthew 24:31-35). When we die, angels carry us to the presence of God (Luke 16:22). However, human beings do not become an angel when we die. We are either a blood bought Saint in Heaven or we condemn our self to hell (John 3:18).

Angels are God's ministering spirits and they are an innumerable host (Hebrews 1:14, 12:22). Angels do not get married, and we will not be married in eternity either (Luke 20:36; Matthew 22:30). However, we are made lower than the angels, and they are guardians over God's Saints. They even carry our prayers to God in their hand (Hebrews 1:14, 2:6-13; Revelation 8:4).

Prayer:

Father God, Lucifer led a third of the angels to rebel against You (2 Peter 2:4). As a created being, he wanted to be equal to You, even though You already gave him great power (Isaiah 14:12-14; Jude 1:6). All of the angels are subject to Christ, who has all dominion and power both in Heaven and on earth (1 Peter 3: 21-22), because there are things, which angels do not understand (1 Peter 1:12). You are our only provider, protector, refuge and fortress. We put our trust in You, not in angels (Psalm 91:2). They simply do Your bidding and are not benevolent beings in their own right (Psalm 103:20). Thank You for directing our angels as You see fit.

Thought for the Day:

Do not forget to be hospitable to strangers, because some of them are angels in disguise. - Hebrews 13:2

God's End Time Purposes

 God views the past, present and future as one event. He knew man's penchant for depravity and our eventual need for Jesus as our Savior. He crafted His end time plan prior to establishing the earth. He dwells in eternity and is not restricted by time as we are. He had a major plan for humanity and it has now almost entirely unfolded.

The anti-Christ's rise to power may be happening as I type. However, God will remove His Saints from the earth before the anti-Christ is ever revealed (1 Thessalonians 5:9). God will judge our works and reward us at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). We will be dressed in our wedding garments, which are made from our righteous works for God, while we are alive on this earth (Revelation 19:8).

Then we will have a wedding feast with Jesus in Heaven (Revelation 19:7-9). At this same time, the torment of the Great Tribulation is taking place on the earth. Jesus opens the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments, which bring devastation and destroys the corrupted earth and the people on it (Matthew 24:4-31; Revelation 6-19).

During the Great Tribulation, the two Jewish witnesses will preach in Jerusalem while 12,000 from each of the Jewish tribes will go out through the earth to win the lost Jews to Christ. God will save those in Israel who choose to believe, and these Saints will give their lives in martyrdom. At the end of the seven-year Great Tribulation, Jesus will return to the earth.

This is called The Second Coming of Christ (Revelation 19:11-21). We, His Bride, are coming with Christ in our immortal, glorified bodies at this same time. The Word of the Lord defeats all the armies of the world assembled by the Anti-Christ at the "Battle of Armageddon" (Revelation 19:11-21). Then He will lock up Satan with all of his demons in the lake of fire. We will rule and reign with Jesus during the Millennium (Revelation 20:3).

Prayer:

Father God, You never send judgment without first sending warning. Noah believed Your counsel about his time's coming Day of Judgment and he built the Ark. He preached Your plan for 120 years. He and his family heeded Your forewarning and were saved from Your wrath (Luke 17:26; Hebrews 11:7), while everyone else perished. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the end times (Matthew 24:37). Thank You for saving us, and making us part of your eternal plan. Please, draw our loved ones, who do not believe, to come to Your loving heart now, before it is too late.

Thought for the Day:

God has not yet poured out judgment on evil, because He has been storing up the cup of His fury since the sin of Adam and Eve; He will dispense it during the Great Tribulation. - Revelation 14:10

End-Time Events

It is so exciting to live in today's world. Many Biblical prophecies are falling into place all at the same time. In the year of 1948, Israel became a nation, the Roman Empire revised in the European Union, and religious leaders launched The World Council of Churches (Jeremiah 30:1-31:40; Isaiah 11:12; Daniel 2: 41:42). God was lining up everything to set the stage for His end-time events.

God's prophetic Words are fulfilled more and more rapidly in these last days. Natural disasters increase every year in record number and magnitude (Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:25). Russia made a pact with the Middle East and will come against Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). Technology can broadcast around the world now, and everyone can see events simultaneously, no matter where they live (Revelation 11:9).

A one world government and currency is also discussed in order to unite the world (Revelation 13:2-7). The Anti-Christ is the first of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelations 6:2). The Anti-Christ will make peace between Israel and the Middle East, which no Politician has ever been able to do. He will set up the one world government and eventually set up His throne in the Jewish Temple and desecrate God's house (Matthew 24:15).

We all experience tribulation in our lives every day; however, the Bible describes these as just "the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8). Jesus describes the Great Tribulation period in Matthew 24:21. God uses the Great Tribulation Period for three reasons: (1) To judge the ungodly nations (2) To put an end to Satan and his demons, and (3) To save Israel.

Prayer:

Father God, all through the Bible, You warn us about the time of Great Tribulation described as "the day of the Lord", "the day of Jesus Christ", "that great and terrible day", “the day of God’s vengeance”, "the great day of God’s wrath", "the hour of His judgment" or the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Isaiah 34:8; 63:1-6; Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 6:17, 14:7). I pray that the casual Bible reader will plainly see these references and realize them as warnings. You never send judgment without warning, because You are a God of compassion and grace. However, You are also a righteous God of justice and You never lie (Numbers 23:19).

Thought for the Day:

God will not pour out His wrath on His Saints. The Lord always delivers His people and reserves the punishment of the unjust until the coming Day of Judgment. - 2 Peter 2:9

His Glorious Appearing

 

The Christian hope is the glorious appearing of the Son of God. It does not matter if you believe He is coming before, in the middle of or after the Great Tribulation. We all know He is coming again. Jesus came the first time to die for our sins and to remove them from our account. He will come again, not only to judge sin, but also to bring complete salvation to all those who trust in Him (Hebrews 9:28). His Saints will share in His glory, when Christ, who is our life, is revealed to the whole world (Colossians 3:4).

Jesus endured the horrific suffering of His crucifixion and death by keeping His focus on the glory of Heaven to which He was about to return. We can have this same focus, knowing that no suffering in this earthly realm is worthy of comparison to the glory, which God will reveal in us. In fact, all of creation groans in travail as it waits for the revealing of God’s Sons (Romans 8:18-19).

Therefore, we look forward with hope to the wondrous day when our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will come with His Saints, displayed in all of His power and glory (Matthew 24:30; Titus 2:13). At the magnificence of His second coming, the Lord will bind Satan and his hoards by one word of His mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Both the living and the dead will receive His judgment when His Kingdom appears (2 Timothy 4:1).

Due to the lawlessness and idolatry of Israel, God delivered them into the hands of Gentile rulers until the end of the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke 21:24). That time is now coming to a close. Israel is a nation again and they will soon view the One whom they rejected become the chief cornerstone in the Temple of God (Psalm 118:22). Everyone who waits and longs for His appearing will receive this very crown of righteousness, the prize we long for, which the Lord will give us upon His return. (1 Timothy 4:8).

At this same time, the whole world will give Him the glory that is due His name (Zechariah 12:10). Jesus will return to the earth on the Mount of Olives with great power and glory (Zechariah 14:4; Matthew 24:30; Revelation 19:11-16). He will rebuild Jerusalem as the capitol of the world (Psalm 102:16), and reign on His throne in His Kingdom forever and ever. We will live under the rule and reign of Jesus, our righteous King, forever.

Prayer:

Father God in heaven, we will finally see clearly all the multitude of times You intervened in our life in order to help us, even when we never noticed or realized it (2 Timothy 1:18). You will reveal Your glory in us and in all creation (Hebrews 9:28). The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard with the goat, the calf and the yearling with the lion; and the little child shall lead them all (Isaiah 11:6). Nature and humanity will thrive in Your presence, never more to live under the curse of sin. We give You all the praise and the glory for Your gracious plan for those who You love.

Thought for the Day:

Keep yourselves in God's love, as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you into His eternal life. - Jude 1:21

Broken and Spilled Out

The idea of being broken means to separate into parts, usually by some violent act. This causes the broken pieces to have rough, uneven and disconnected edges. We are often crushed, cracked, strained and fractured by events in our life. We feel confused and fearful. We inadvertently injure others because of our own jagged, inner wounds. We have an imperfect life ruined by the ravages of sin. Jesus allowed His own body to be broken and His blood to be spilled out for our eternal healing in body, soul and spirit (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). He came to heal the brokenhearted by the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18).

Even if we are pressed in on every side by troubles, we are not crushed. We may be disheartened, but not driven to despair. Our enemies may hunt us down, but God never abandons us. Even if we are persecuted, it happens so that Christ’s character can be revealed in us. We share in Christ’s eternal life, even if we also share in His sufferings (2 Corinthians 4:7-12). God is always near to the broken hearted and He saves those who are crushed in Spirit (Psalm 34:18).

Our suffering here on earth cannot even compare to the unspeakable glory and joy that God will reveal in us and to us through the power of Christ’s resurrection. He comforts all who mourn (Matthew 5:4). God requires from us a spirit, which is humbly broken and contrite (Psalm 51:17). If we fall upon Christ by faith, we may be crushed; but He will save us. Conversely, those who reject Jesus actually expose themselves to danger, ultimate ruin and eternal destruction, because the rock of Christ will fall on them and annihilate them (Luke 20:18; John 3:16-18).

Due to their unbelief, the Jewish branches were broken off from God’s vine. This allowed the Gentile Believers to be grafted into Jesus, who is the vine (Romans 11:19; John 15:5). However, God will not allow the crushed stem to be completely broken or their feeble light to be put out entirely (Matthew 12:20). After the times of the Gentiles, when the Bride of Christ is at her wedding feast, the Jews will receive another chance to accept Jesus as their Savior during the Great Tribulation period (Romans 11:25; Revelation 7:4). Then together we will rule and reign with Christ for eternity (2 Timothy 2:12).

It is only after we humbly recognize our need for our Savior that we call upon Him. He will always answer us, and show us great and mighty things (Jeremiah 33:33). As God does His sanctifying work in us, we slowly come to a place where we completely surrender our plans for our life and follow God’s will for us instead. It is then that we wonder why it took us so long to submit to His unconditional love. In reality, we can do nothing less than offer our total life, broken and spilled out in our love for Christ. Through this sacrificial love we will change the world, one life at a time.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, just like the alabaster jar You allowed Your body to be broken and spilled out for the salvation of mankind (Matthew 26:7; John 10:18). Through this act of sacrifice, You gave the most generous, impossible and extravagant gift to the whole world that we can ever receive - the free gift of salvation through Your  blood. You opened the way for us to enter into the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 10:19-22); so that we can worship You together forever.  

Thought for the Day: A broken life becomes a willing servant of the Lord.

God Never Condemns

When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost everything God created for our enjoyment in Paradise. At that time, the spirit of man died. Human beings are all born with a living body and a living soul - our mind, will and emotions; but our spirit is dead in Adam’s sin (Ephesians 2: 1). When we accept Christ as our Savior, He not only rebirths our spirit through salvation, but He renews our soul through a lifetime of sanctification. Since our thoughts and actions grow more positive, our body is healthier as well.

The influence of sin in the world from the time of Adam and Eve causes all of the sickness and trials we have now, but God uses them for our good and for His higher purpose (Romans 8:28; Isaiah 57:1). God never sends judgment without first sending a warning. He warned the people in the Old Testament through the prophets, but few people heeded their admonition. God even took the form of a human being and came to earth as Jesus Christ to warn the people of coming judgment, and His contemporaries crucified Him. Those in the early church heard about judgment through the Apostles. Today, we have the Word of God as our warning.

Since the book of Revelation was written and circulated, we have had a clear harbinger of things to come. Most people have a Bible in their home, but very few ever read it or take it seriously. This is Satan's doing. He appeals to mankind's intellect and convinces them that the Bible is nothing more than fairy tales, that Jesus’ divinity is improvable and that God does not exist – all lies. Biblical prophecy is the major proof that the Bible is true. Every prophecy is either already literally fulfilled, being literally fulfilled today or soon to be literally fulfilled through end time events.

Jesus will soon rapture His Church. Receiving our rewards and marrying Jesus, our bridegroom, along with our wedding feast, takes seven years. Those unbelievers left behind on the earth after the rapture will go through horrid torment during this same seven years. That is why we try so hard to talk to people about Christ now in order to give them a chance to hear the truth before the judgment comes. Revelation chapter 6 begins with the seals that represent the beginning of God's judgment of unbelievers on the earth during the Great Tribulation period (Matthew 24:4-31.)

We condemn our self by our unbelief (John 3:18; 1 John 3:20). God condemns no one (John 3:17). God desires that no one will perish, but that all will come to repentance and faith in Him (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Jesus actually came to seek and to save those who are lost in sin (Luke 19:10). If we sin, Jesus is our advocate with our Heavenly Father (1 John 2:1). God calls us to continue living in Christ so that when He appears, we may be confident in our salvation and stand before Him unashamed (1 John 2:28).

Prayer:
Father God, we are so impressed with the length and breadth and width of Your love for Your People (Ephesians 3:18). You made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that You will fulfill in the Millennium. The Bride and Israel will dwell together with You as joint heirs with Jesus of all that You have in store for us. Thank You for the opportunity for us to choose You and to follow You and to live for You now and for eternity.
 
Thought for the Day:
Those who refuse to love God’s Truth and be saved, because they delight in wickedness, will receive powerful delusion during the Great Tribulation; so that they will believe the anti-Christ’s lie and be condemned for eternity with Satan and his demons. - 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

 

Why Do People Refuse to Believe the Bible?

God used several diverse men from different times and places to write consistent accounts, which confirm one another. Scholars put these confirmed writings into the 66 books of the Bible we read today. Scribes so accurately transcribed these words throughout the ages, that if you compare them they all say the same thing with minimal differences. Even the recently recovered Dead Sea Scrolls prove the accuracy of the Bible, which we have today. Yet, people refuse to believe its veracity.

God gave us the Bible so we could base our faith and practice on its truths. It is full of historic events, traditional stories and common sense instruction for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training us in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Archeology, history, science and mathematical logic all help us to recognize the authority of the Bible. There is no need for a revision of history between then and now or any manually constructed evidence to prove the truth of the Bible.

If you compare the Old Testament of the Christian Bible with what historians during that time documented about the land and people mentioned in the Bible, you will find that it is based on facts, which are proven by history. Scientific astronomy also proves that the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1). Even stories such as Noah’s flood, which many people discount, are proven by archeological findings. In fact, no archeological find has ever disproved the Bible. The Bible is repeatedly proven true by these and so many more secular facts.

Then, the supernatural attributes of the Bible’s prophecies, many of which are already literally fulfilled, give us another detail to prove its accuracy. Over 300 of these Old Testament prophecies are linked with the New Testament accounts of Jesus Christ. Experts tell us that the mathematical statistics and probability of getting just 8 of these 300 prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ is 1 in one quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000). This gives us faith to know that those prophecies that have not yet happened will certainly be literally fulfilled as well. This is not possible with any other religious leader or the holy book of any other religion.

There are many anti-biblical beliefs in the world today, which make sense to the human mind, but in the end they all lead to spiritual death (Proverbs 14:12). Many intelligent men throughout time sought to make a case against the Bible. When they did their research, however, they were forced to accept what scientific reasoning, prophetic accuracy, archaeology and history were showing them. Every effort they ever made turned out to prove the truth and accuracy of the Bible. Many of these people even chose to join the Christian family because of the verification of their research.

God has given us plenty of rational evidence pointing to the supernatural accuracy of the Bible. Why then do people refuse to believe the validity of the Scripture? Our culture invents doubts for the seeker’s mind, university professors demand that Biblical information not be used in their classrooms, and people hurt by hypocritical and even well-meaning Christians choose to close their mind to God’s Truth. Satan has deluded them and blinded their eyes from seeing the truth. People also suppress the truth because of their wickedness.

The truth about God is made simple to us in so many ways. Even nature reveals God’s eternal power and divine character. We clearly see and understand God’s Truth through creation, and no one has a valid excuse not to believe. Although the truth about God is evident, people still choose not to glorify Him as God, nor to give Him thanks for all He does for each and every one of us every single day of our lives (Romans 1:18-21).

Humanistic thinking is pointless and leads us away from God. People close their irrational hearts to the light of God’s Word. These people claim to be wise, but by their actions and thinking they prove themselves to be fools. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for humanistic and satanic lies. Therefore God gave them all over to the sinful desires of their hearts. They believe false doctrine and worship one another rather than the Creator who is forever to be praised (Romans 1:22-25).

There are even a few major world events that prove we are living in the end times. They start with the dispersion of the Jews by the Roman Empire (Ezekiel 22:15); the persecution of the Jews (Isaiah 3:24); the re-gathering of the Jews to Israel in 1948 (Ezekiel 37:21); the Six Day war in 1967 (Zechariah 12:3-5); the Hebrew language is restored to Israel, so the people can worship the Lord in one accord (Zephaniah 3:9), the shekel is restored as the currency of Israel (Ezekiel 45:12); of all the Middle Easter countries, only Israel gushed forth with water on the barren heights, deserts turned into pools of water, and fruit, forest and olive trees grew in the wasteland and became the Garden of the Middle East (Isaiah 41:18-20, 27:6, 35:1-2; Ezekiel 36:34-36; Amos 9:14-15).

We already have the beginning of birth pains. The increase in destructive forces of nature, pestilence, famine, disease, wars and rumors of wars are already occurring. The news is full of record-breaking events (Matthew 24:4-8). Christians are persecuted in record numbers, many are turning away from faith in Jesus Christ, false prophets have arisen to lead people away from the one true God, and there is an increase in wickedness where people commit atrocities without conscience (Matthew 24:9-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Toward the end of civilization as we know it, the Bible prophesies a war against Israel by the Middle East and Russia (Ezekiel 38-39). Russia is already aligned with these nations. The time is growing short for you to make a decision to follow Christ. God will intervene in Israel’s favor during this war as he did in the Seven Day war. Will you allow God to intervene in your life and bring you to salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ? When the gospel of the kingdom is preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). The revelation of the anti-Christ as the leader of the world, unified in politics, religion and commerce, will usher in the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:15; Revelation 13:16-18, 20:4).

This is also called the Day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:2). God’s wrath will be revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of every unbelieving nation (Luke 21:25-27). This will happen during the last seven years of human history. He will judge all the nations of the world; put an end to Satan’s dominion over the earth; and send out 144,000 Jewish evangelists, so that His beloved Israel will be saved. Most Bible prophecies are already fulfilled. We are hovering in the fourth and fifth chapter of Revelation. You may not have much time left in your life to believe in Jesus as your Savior and to surrender your will and your life to God. Please do not wait…tomorrow may be too late.

Learn more at:

http://www.thedanielprojectmovie.com/

http://www.bibleprobe.com/365messianicprophecies.htm

http://www.christianpost.com/news/faith-isnt-needed-to-recognize-biblical-authority-85079/#bZKJx3E6Uvkg685g.99

A Lesson from Lot

Read: Genesis 18

God never sends judgment without warning. This is revealed over and over again in Biblical accounts. God used people like Jonah, who warned Nineveh. Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the rest of the prophets also warned people in their age and time of His impending judgment.

Genesis 18 gives us a glimpse of the heart of God. He is not willing that any should perish. In this story of Lot’s deliverance from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, we see God’s mercy and patience. Iniquity ran rampant in the city, and people were hurting one another just as they do in our world today. God wanted to bring righteous judgment on the people there. So, God and Abraham had a little chat about His plans.

Abe asks, “Will you spare the city if we can find righteous people living there?” God agrees to spare the city. Abe goes down in number until he finally asks, in Genesis 18:32… "What if only ten righteous people can be found in the city, will you still destroy it?”

God answered, “For the sake of ten, I will NOT destroy the city.”

This Biblical account paints a lovely picture of God’s longsuffering mercy. He was willing to spare the entire city for just ten righteous people. Unfortunately, only Lot was righteous (Gen 19:12). Therefore, the angels demanded that Lot get his family out of town, so that they would be safe. When Lot went to talk to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters, the men jeered at him because they thought he was joking.

This often happens to us today too. We try to warn our friends and family, but they just scoff at us and think it is a big joke or that we are deceived. They do not even believe when we show them that God is using fulfilled Bible prophecy, record breaking natural disasters, wars and rumors of war, financial collapses, hearts growing spiritually cold, iniquity abounding, and so many more signs to warn us about the impending judgment ahead. The greatest tribulation the world has ever known is about to come upon the whole earth. God wants everyone to be saved. However, it is up to individuals to make their own choice about whether or not to believe the truth and to walk uprightly with God, or to believe a lie and to continue walking in unrighteousness.

Genesis tells us that the angels again urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

Lot hesitated once more. He did not want to leave his family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, home and belongings. The angels finally had to grab his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters, in order to hurry them safely out of the city. God showed unlimited patience and mercy to Lot and his family. He does the same thing for us today.

Another example of God’s merciful patience is seen in the story of Noah, who preached for 120 years and built a boat as a huge object lesson. However, no one would listen to him either. God gave them 120 years to repent of their wickedness and to get on the ark before He sent the flood. They all scoffed at His warning. The Bible tells us that the same thing that happened in Noah's day will happen in the last days of the world as we know it. "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." (Matt 24:37)

Prayer:

Lord God, You do not desire that any should perish. However, so many people make their own formula for life, and write You out of the equation. The people of the Old Testament did not succeed by ignoring You in their day, and mankind will not succeed by ignoring You now. Help us to understand that this is why You gave us all the stories in the Bible, as a warning for the wise.

Thought for the Day:
God cautioned mankind for 2000 years that the Great Tribulation is eventually coming. Please, listen!