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

How Satan's Temptations Influence Us

Satan uses three aspects of our human life to tempt us into sin. The lusts aroused by what we see, the lusts of our human flesh, our pride and our rebellion against authority. Study the way Satan tempted Biblical characters such as Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:6), Jonah, Moses and even Jesus (Matthew 4:3). He appealed to fleshly gratification, power and recognition and self-interest.

Attempting to fulfill the lusts of our flesh always causes our moral demise and allures us from following God’s will for our life (Galatians 5:16-25). Satan is subtle and very good at what He does. In fact, at the end of the Millennium, God looses Satan from his chains in hell so he can attempt to deceive those born during the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ right here on the earth with us (Revelation 20:7).

Satan convinces people who lived in the presence of Christ during the Millennium, just as he did when Jesus lived on the earth for 33 years. He blinds their eyes and deafens their ears and appeals to the lust of their eyes and flesh, as well as to their pride and rebellious nature. As we follow after God and obey His will for our life (Ephesians 2:10), it is much easier to discern Satan’s deception from the start.

Only God and His Kingdom will last forever (1 John 2:15-17). If we recognize that this world is passing away and everything in it, then we can put into perspective the fiery darts of temptation from our #1 enemy. Relinquish all lust, pride and rebellion to Christ. Only those who depend solely on Christ as their life (Colossians 3:4) will believe to the end and be saved (Matthew 10:22).

Prayer:

Father God, when Satan tempted Jesus, he found no flesh in Him that He could appeal to. He tried, but Jesus was so united with You that He rose above Satan’s carnal appeals. Jesus also used Your Word to defeat the enemy. Remind us to drench our life with Your scriptures so that we too can withstand the enemy when he comes like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Thought for the Day:

Cling to the vine of Christ and draw your fulfillment from Him rather than from your flesh, the world or the devil. – John 15:5