THERE IS A REASON WHY THEY CALL IT TONGUES

This will be the last of my articles on the Greatest gifts. This one is called tongues and the reason is this gift is plural in the literal and spiritual sense. Still today many churches fail to understand the implications of speaking in tongues and seem to shy away from this important gift as it may seem to them to be too pentecostal or holiness denomination in its roots. Some church organizations imply it is demons speaking rather than the Holy Spirit. Well there is a good way to check that out as I have mentioned in past articles on the Gifts.

Paul in Corinthians did allude to speaking of tongues and put down a guide line of how to use speaking tongues in the church. I can feel if Paul mentioned this in his letters, then it certainly is right to use this in worshiping God. However, he did also lay out the guidelines quite clearly on how to use this gift and warned of falsely professing or falsely using tongues to edify yourself rather than the church.

There is actually three types of tongues. One is when people are receiving the Holy Spirit and do speak in tongues as evidence of ones Baptism by the Holy Spirit. This may be a one time shot only in most cases. Does one speak in exotic , Hebrew, or Greek languages. Maybe or maybe not. Depends on having an interpreter at the time present. This type is when one is Baptised by the Holy spirit.

The second one is not up for interpretation. It usually happens in prayer meetings where the members are praying in the Holy Spirit. You should not seek interpretation as scriptures declares it so in 1 Cor.:14-2. This may also be led by the Holy Spirit but it is for the one speaking and God only. In some faiths the is a routine occurrence as part of the prayer. Most of the time is is not spiritually led nor is it a gift but that of adoration to God. For lack of knowledge of the ancient gifts one speaking may only be speaking in babel with no discernible language. Here is where you can get into some trouble speaking if you do not know what you are saying. I would think it might be prudent to speak in tongues in the English language to some degree and let the Holy Spirit lead you. Saying praises to God and exalting His grace might be a better position.

The third type of tongues is definitely open for interpretation and will be spoken as such. They have syllables and a discernible language as given by the Holy Spirit. It is decisive, instructive, divine, and beautiful to hear. This is when God is directly speaking to us in words not of our native language. This is to bring glory to the church and must have interpretation by one versed in the languages. The one doing the speaking is divinely guided with out pause in a quick short burst. Nothing lengthy, other wise it becomes filled with the persons thoughts rather than God's thoughts.

How can you tell the speaking is directly from God? Ones that speak a little tongue then some more or begin to repeat their selves is not speaking divinely. The same goes for interpretation. The interpreter stutters and stammers giving a word every now and then. God or the Holy Spirit is not lacking for words so it will be powerful and to the point. They don't need to look for words to speak. Any thing else is folly, demonistic, and false tongues spoken by one not edifying the church or God. So be careful in what you are saying or think you are saying in tongues. Never try to make your self to look saintly and profess what you don't really have. Make sure it is from the Holy Spirit or God by asking what you hear of feel by saying "Did Jesus come in the flesh" If it is demonistic you will not get a yes. If you hear a voice saying "If you will do this or that you can have holy powers etc. etc. or I want you to go here or there and you will get your mission to serve me. If you do that or this I will make you wealthy. DON"T BELIEVE IT. You are not being led by God but by demonic forces. Remember what John warned of in the coming times. 1 John 4:1-3

In possessing the gifts all is lost if it is not done in pure love of God , Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as well as your fellow persons. With out that love, all is in vain in service to the Lord. I pray it was my mission to introduce you to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit through God's grace so that you can experieince and desire these gifts in service to the Lord.

GREATEST GIFTS PART TWO

The gift of the word of wisdom as it is rightfully called is the ability to understand what is written in the scriptures but also the ability to make the correct decision on business matters, church matters, or other stressful matters. Rather than taking on a task or action based on your own talent and mind, you ask for God's or the Holy Spirit's guidance and suggestions and allow Him to lead you in decisions. This is a manifestation of the word of wisdom. If you hear a voice or think you do telling you something completely off track of the scriptures, It probably is from the wrong spirit. Always best to ask that spirit or voice verbally if Jesus Christ came in the flesh. If you get no reply then there is something wrong with that voice or thought. I suggest reading 1 John 4:1-3 concerning testing the Spirits then read the rest of 1 John 4:4-19 which I found meaningful.

The gift of the word of knowledge I think is closely related to the Word of wisdom and possibly will show your evaluation scores fairly close to each other from the evaluation test. Knowledge of the scriptures as how it relates to an issue does take an extensive and super natural ability to quote or discuss the issues with others less informed of the scriptures. This means you have the ability to quote scriptures by memory verse by verse and apply it to an application or an issue being discussed. When it is done by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so then it becomes the truth and lives full of power and God's grace

Smith Wigglesworth once said in one of his books " The bible is a dead letter except by the spirit. Jesus did not just speak dead words but spoke words full of spirit and life. John 6:63".

I know when I read Jesus words in the New Testament, I get goose bumps every time I read them. It feels like he is in front of me talking to me directly. If that is not full of the spirit and life I don't know what is.

As many of you read the bible, you may go back over a chapter and re read a verse that wasn't too stand outish. But this time a verse pops out of the bible and grabs you that you didn't notice before. It is as if a divine revelation was given to you personally. You have just been given a part of the word of knowledge. Rejoice in that as the Holy Spirit is talking to you directly.

The gift of faith. Everyone who believes has faith in God,but how much faith do you have? If you have divine faith in God, you can move mountains or at least he can but Jesus said you can move mountains if you believe. Can you heal the sick, bring joy to the depressed, give hope to the down trodden, and bring non believers to repent? This is where the faith of God's supernatural powers comes into play through the Holy Spirit. Salvation is by faith, through grace,and it is the gift of God.

In faith you are always looking for ways to manifest the gift of faith by the Holy Spirit. It is in this vein that the Lord will operate this gift in you at any time. At the same time one who is not in deep faith in the Lord through Love, determination, and boldness in faith, that one will never possess the gift. It is always good to have a higher level of faith than most others in order for God to have His will in your service to Him.

The gifts of healing as it is properly called is probably the most powerful of all the gifts in my view and rating. Why? I don't know but it carries the most ramifications. Healing gifts are so full that they are beyond human expression or comprehension. I am fully aware of the healing stories in scriptures and marvel at this gift. I am also aware it is one that calls for divine intervention through the Holy Spirit and God. I have not ever witnessed a real healing occasion done by a believer in God or action by the Holy Spirit to one of illness. What I am trying to say is that I have not seen a healing such as a blind person walks in blind and is healed on a stage by the pastor or minister then walks off the stage able to see. It is more complicated than that.

Now I do believe in healing but at a different approach. We should all seek the attention of a Doctor for our illnesses as he is trained to understand what is needed to heal. We as believers must pray for that sick person to be healed through God's divine guidance with the Doctor as he is better equipped to discern what needs to be done. Now a person touched with divine guidance in the healing gifts and is endowed with so much faith he or she may be able to heal on the spot but I feel they may need to have some medical background in order to discern the illness to be healed. In other words one blessed with the Holy Spirit through God's grace and is at the level of disciple ship in their relationship with God. I guess here is where I fall short in my faith still as many others. This is a super natural power given to one who believes and walks in the shadow of Jesus and is Jesus like with out any doubts what so ever of their abilities. I would hope there are ones out there that can heal but I have never met them yet. I f I do, then I will know through testing them with my own illnesses.

I have touched on only a few gifts of the Holy Spirit through God's grace but they are given to all that ask for them as God wills them. Again and again I must re affirm that these are gracious gifts and must be handled with humility and reserve. Not to be used for entertainment or folly but in power and boldness if it sanctifies the Holy Spirit and God. You do not lead the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit leads you if your heart and mind is pure and true in faith to God. So then you will experience the joy and peace of one sanctified in God's grace. Never abuse these gifts or add your boast full words to any of the gifts. Only glorify God

More to come later

THE GREATEST GIFTS YOU EVER RECEIVED

1957- 58- 59 CHEVY BODIES ON A 2008 CORVETTE CHASSIS

I can dream can't I? Tonight I was asked what was the greatest gift I ever received. In a half humorous statement I blurted out a red Radio Flyer Wagon on Christmas when I was 5 years old. Why that ever came up I don't have a clue. I was quite a believer in Santa clause back then and even though we didn't have chimneys or fire places in houses in Florida, I just knew Santa was going to get one into the house some way. I did get the little red wagon on Christmas day but he left it on the roof instead. My Dad and Uncle were quite imaginative in those days to my great surprise. I remember another time My Dad gave me another great gift of the times when I was about 8 years old. I had been wanting a camping tent because I was getting involved in the Cub Scouts and wanted one for camping trips. Here again, No chimneys and fire places in Florida but Dad came through again for me. After I went to bed, he and my Uncle spent Christmas Eve in our back yard putting up this great tent with only two flash lights and a lot of determination to surprise me.

Over the years I have received great gifts but as an adult these gifts became more special. My wife who decided to marry me was a great gift I had received as an adult at that time. Then there was our two daughters that followed two and four years later.

To say I was blessed is an understatement.

Tonight this question meant a new meaning. What was the greatest gift I ever received spiritually. To be honest, I can't list just one as the greatest. It would have to be many. You have to remember I am not a youngun any more and have been around a while.

When you are speaking of Spiritual gifts there are many as I have mentioned before so I will not dig too deep in that but it is a great honor to be given just one gift from the Holy Spirit through God's grace. With that honor comes a great responsibility and the wisdom of when to use it and how which I will discuss.

For most believers, the first great gift is the Baptism by water and the sanctification of being born again in a new body in Christ. What great joy that was in my experience. But that is only the beginning as far as gifts from God. He so loves you that he will shower you with as many great gifts as you can take in and use in service to Him. There is a second Baptism and it is by the Holy Spirit when He moves you to elation and joy in glorifying God. How do you know if you have been Baptised in the Holy Spirit? I cannot tell you how. There are many ways it affects the people. I can tell you in my experience I was more sedate and tranquil but became passionate in discussing the scriptures in the bible with any one that would listen. I found my self wanting to serve in the church, I felt compassion for others less fortunate, I looked for ways to win others to Christ, I really began to pray to the Lord for guidance and forgiveness of my sins frequently, I prayed for others that were ill, I found love for my fellow persons, I found a new interest in the Spiritual gifts and a burning desire to learn all that I could, and the list goes on.

As it is said in the bible ask in Jesus name and you shall receive. So it is with the gifts. Just ask for them and you will receive them that are best suited for you. Now you do not need to continually pray for the gifts as some might think. Once or twice at the most is all that you need. You will then become aware of what gifts you have been given. No God is not going to speak out in a thunderous voice and say "it is done" to you but you will start to get a feeling for possessing something special. Read in Corinthians of what Paul says on the spiritual gifts. As a matter of fact read all of Corinthians. You will get a deeper insight.

1 John 4:1-3 mentions to test the spirits for validity. There are two types of spirits. The Holy Spirit and the demon spirits which will give you a fit if you listen to the wrong one. Just as we think God is talking to us we should always ask "did Jesus come in the flesh" vocally. If you are unsure of who is talking to you in your spiritual communication. Any spirit that does not confess that Jesus did come in the flesh, you might be talking to the wrong spirit. Watch out! You are being set up to be led away from God. There is a reason for being vocal in your prayers. The demon spirits cannot read your thoughts. They can hear you and speak to you in your thoughts but they cannot hear your thoughts. Thus always ask and pray vocally or whisper. That way you will not get mixed signals and think the Holy spirit is the only one talking to you. It also lets the demon spirits know that you are under the influence of God's grace and time to move on. The reason I mentioned this is I am sure you are going to get this voice in your head that is going to promise wonderful things and certainly will not be the voice of the Holy spirit or God. Test the voices and spirit. Do not be led astray.

Now we have been blessed with spiritual gifts form the Holy Spirit. What do we do next? Which one did we get? Which one did you want? They all have about the same rule of protocol. The first thing you don't want to do is go about bragging you have a gift and edifying your self. You are supposed to edify the church and God in using the gifts. Use them with greatness but use them in the grace of the Holy Spirit and humbly

1 Corinthians14:1 Prophesy. When we think of prophesy we think of for telling the future only. That is part of prophesy but we can prophesy today by giving testimonials which is what most of us can readily do. However, Let the Holy Spirit lead the way in your testimonial and DO NOT stretch it out in a long winded essay that goes on and eventually is peppered by your own thoughts. Let the Holy Spirit lead you, not you lead the Holy Spirit. What you are trying to convey is that non believers also can be given the grace of God too, just as we have.

Next up is Wisdom and faith in part two.

WHAT IS A BURNING PASSION?

When we say we have a burning passion what exactly do we mean? What strokes the flames to keep this going? Where is it leading us? Is it desire? Is it lust? For most, this comes to mind in desire for material things, enjoying doing a pleasurable activity, or lusting after a beautiful woman or handsome man.

My question is What is a burning passion spiritually? Have you ever had one? What was the passion about? What led you to have this obsessive passion? We have all heard of our pastor in a local church that was set a fire to become a minister story. It was a compulsion led by God to star preaching the Good News. The poor fellow drops everything in his life to become a servant to God and I admire that. It takes an immense deal of commitment to do that.

What I am thinking of is the lay people ( us Christians allegedly)that gets a divine awakening ( burning passion if you will) to serve God. It has been said once the Lord smites you with a mission; nothing gets in the way to serve or proceed with that mission. Is it from fear or love of the Lord that you pursue the mission? For most believers of the faith this is a no brainer and it certainly is the case in my actions. What I have learned, the Lord is not age biased, race biased. social biased, or sex biased. He takes all to come under His grace to serve Him.

I don't know about other's passions so I will have to give you ideas about my experiences. In one way or another I had always been in a church setting as a member off and on most of my life. You know going on Sunday and the rest of the week it was tied up making a living and raising kids trying to lead a good life while lusting for material things, money, and climbing up the corporate ladder of success. I even went through a period of Darwinism, Humanism, Scientific evolution, and the Big Bang theory. I even believed that money was the only thing that could buy you happiness. You know what? I was miserable, lost, and felt life had no meaning unless I bought more material things to sooth my feelings and lusted for more money. Quite an endless cycle of despair and no passion.

I took up photography to find something that I was missing. I immediately began to find peace in Nature by observing and photographing wild life. I also found that these creatures are so related to us in their natural actions of everyday life and survival that it overwhelmed me with wonder. It was then that a still quiet voice spoke to me and said " Look what I have created with my hand and so I did mankind too." It didn't sink in at first but as I continued with my photography, I did hear more still quiet voices as I discovered more in Nature. Then one day in an approaching storm a bolt of lightening ( it felt) seemed to strike me down with the thought God created all living things out of his love including us. As I fell down to my knees some thing happened I have never experienced before. Inner peace, contentment, and joy. I looked up from eyeing the Canada Geese around me and thanked God for all the wonders of his creation.

Then the burning passion to read the bible took over and relearn the scriptures and His word. I had a few health issues and prayed for healing and more time to learn of God's word which was granted. I had what the Doctors believed was possibly Prostate Cancer. Surgery revealed no tumor and no cancer. I was convinced I had been given God's grace and a reprieve to serve and worship Him. I studied more of the bible and researched books on Christianity. I went back to church with a renewed interest and passion to serve the Lord. I wasn't content to sit in the pews and listen to the sermons. I took action and found by accident the spiritual gifts granted in God's grace by the Holy Spirit. I took test to find the Gifts I might possess. I joined small groups to practice fellowship, I began to speak up with a fiery passion about the scriptures when called upon to speak, I began to desire in earnest the Spiritual Gifts knowledge, I opened up an evangelist blog site, I became totally convicted and surrendered my self to God and serve him, I started to witness to others. Now I have a burning passion to serve the Lord God all mighty in Jesus name. Now I have joy, peace, and hope in my life here on earth. I no longer lust after material things. I have compassion for my fellow persons. I appreciate what God has done for me. Now I know.

You too can experience that same thing in your life by only accepting Jesus as your saviour and ask for forgiveness in Jesus name to God. Time is short. Do not hesitate. You don't have to earn God's grace. It is yours for the asking by only believing. God so loved us that he gave His only son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may be forgiven as sinners. John 3:16. It will make a difference in your life.

WHAT HAPPENES WHEN THE FLESH DIES?

Certainly a dark subject for most but it needs to be addressed .Scientifically speaking, this process starts when a vital organ stops functioning which leads to all the other organs becoming starved for vital oxygen and blood circulation. If not refrigerated, the body's cells begin to decompose immediately. The skin begins to loose the flesh tones and turns a pale color. The neurons in the brain begin to die off and create short circuits all through the brain with flashes of bright light as seen by the dying who have been revived. Some state they saw their body while floating in the air above their body or are led to a bright light only to be returned to their body. At that is what people say in their near death experiences.

To date, no mortal has been able to return after death of the flesh and give us any specifics as to what really happens. Only one since recorded history has ever been able to do just that. Not only did He come back to life but He left a message to his disciples to give hope to all that there is life after death. He talked to Mary as he ascended from the tomb, He passed through doors, He ate with his disciples, He showed Thomas his wounds so that he would believe, He was resurrected from death, He was Jesus the son of God in a new Holy form . He promised eternal life in a place called heaven for those that would repent of their sins and believe in Him as our saviour

What will happen to us when our body dies? We think we are good people and led a moral life so we should get to go to heaven but wait, heaven is not a place for good people. It is a place for forgiven people that believe and accept Jesus as their personal saviour and God as their Holy Father. Sorry No atheist that are good people allowed.

Lets look at what happens when it is our time to depart the sin full flesh on earth. Will we be put to sleep in our graves for a period of time before the rapture then our bodies will be called to heaven during the rapture? Does our souls or spirit go first then join up with our bodies after the rapture? It all depends on where you read this issue in the scriptures. What I have discovered is truly amazing and it is what I have come to in my conclusion through studying of the scriptures and other books.

If you read certain scriptures, you might be led to think if you die before the rapture, you may have to lay in a grave till the rapture comes or you might be buried in a grave for a thousand years, then get raised up to heaven. That is not what the scripture says. Far from it.

It is not spelled out in plain text but in that small silent voice with authority. As our bodies of the flesh dies, we are immediately raised up to heaven to be with our Father and with those that have gone before you. This is not mentioned only once in the scriptures but many times. Paul comes to mind. He mentioned this in Philippians 1:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5 :8, and Acts 7:56-59. Then there is Luke quoting Jesus on the cross. Luke 23:42-43. These four passages attest to the fact you will be raised up to heaven in spirit immediately. Your spirit will be raised up to heaven immediately but you body will be laid to rest in the grave. Your body ( flesh) dies but your spirit lives eternally with the Lord. Paul also states our bodies will be asleep but this relates to death of our bodies. not our souls or our spirits. They are already with the Lord by then and will enjoy the grace of God and living in his presence just as the Holy Spirit and Jesus. .

Ok now we have all these bodies that will be called up from the grave during the rapture. So we are in the grave till then too? NO! Absolutely not. Our bodies are like seeds planted in the soil to grow into something wonderful. A new being. A new appearance. I like to plant flowers from the seedlings I harvest every year. What grows from those seeds? If I am a good gardener, I get blooming flowers with majestic colors and beauty beyond imagination. So it will be with our bodies during the rapture. Our bodies also will unite with our spirit in heaven and we will be glorified in the likeness of the Lord Jesus with out pain, infirmities, and flaws. But yet all through this we live in His name in spirit and then in the body as a whole when the rapture appears.

What wonderful promise is laid out for us in the scriptures if only we repent of our sins and follow Jesus. What great super natural powers we will have in worshiping the Lord our Father. What peace we will have in eternity if only we ask for forgiveness of our sins and worship Him today.

HOMELESS. ANY ACT OF RANDOM KINDNESS APPRECIATED

Male African Duck?

Yesterday was an extremely hot day here with heat hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk. I was thankful to have the car's A/C on and enjoying it. As I was stopped at a stoplight I noticed a man in his 60's sitting on the side walk with a card board sign in his hand. It said with a drawing of a home and Less on the end of it. Also said "any act of random kindness is greatly appreciated."

My first thought was that of another homeless person begging for money to buy liquor or drugs. Thank God it wasn't me, I thought but a still quiet voice in my head said otherwise. He was clean shaven and his eyes seemed quite clear. A clear cup of almost gone water sat beside him. I could imagine it was quite hot. He was covered in sweat and wiped his forehead frequently. We made eye contact, he smiled, and so did I. The light changed and I took off with the traffic. There was something different about this homeless person that didn't fit the mold of other homeless people I have seen.

For some reason I felt compelled to investigate this further so I pulled into the shopping center across the street to watch him. There he sat on that hot sidewalk quietly being baked by the afternoon heat and sun as the cars passed him not even noticing him or ignoring him. SUVs, BMWs, and Hummers never stopped to offer him any thing. It was then that I noticed he was out of water and parched. Then something led me to go into a fast food place and bought the largest cup of water they had ( yes they charged me) and drove back by the man. I stopped and went over to him to offer him the water and pulled out my wallet and gave him all that I had in money. I blurted out that the Lord compelled me to offer this to you in his love.

He then stood up shakily, (but eyes as bright as they could be) blessed me, and said I will see you in heaven some day. All I could say was I hope so and left. Driving away I thought 'Hey ! Duh! I could have given him my umbrella to keep the sun off him. As I drove back around, he was gone. No sign up or down the street of him any where. There were no liquor stores nearby. He didn't have time to get to a store so he should have been still walking but he had vanished

As I was driving home, the verses from Matthew 25:40-46 and the parable of the Samaritan on the road as told by Jesus came to mind out of the clear blue sky. Was this one of those cases from the scriptures? What made this homeless person different? Why was I compelled to stop and offer assistance? No homeless person has never ever sparked my interest like this one did. Was I being tested? We can only wonder. God does work in strange ways I am told and this might have been one of them. Either way I felt good helping one less fortunate than I.

ARE YOU READY? FINAL PART

To conclude this series on the Book of Revelations, I am going to discuss God's plan for us. Reading Revelations may not be many peoples favorite Book but it has foretold what lies in store for those that fail to understand God's grace and love.

I liken it to the the parent that warns the unruly child of what is in store for them if they refuse to mind. You warn Jr. repeatedly to behave or else the wrath of Daddy will come down on them. So it is with God and his Children ( us). As a parent you love your children and do not want to see harm come to them. You protect them and hold them close to your heart always looking out for their safety. You remind them of your love for them. You remind them to be careful about wandering astray and not be swayed by ones of evil intentions. So does God with us.

As a matter of fact God laid out a survival manual for us to follow warning us in advance of what to expect and what is yet to come. What is that manual? It is the Holy Bible written over a few thousand year period proclaiming his love for us if we would only believe and have faith in Him. If you look at all the prophets and disciples writings there is one main theme. His love for his children (us). John 3:16. How much stronger can that short message convey in His caring feelings for us? The bible has all that you need to know as far as your daily living and what is considered a sin. It tells you what you must do to have everlasting life with Him. It warns you of the evil one which takes great joy in misleading you and it tells you of what to expect when Jesus comes down to gather up His church during the Rapture. It is all there for you to follow. Even during tribulations it is still showing God's pleas to the un believers trying to convince them of his love and to repent.

If you notice, there hasn't been a verifiable prophesy in nearly two thousand years. Does this mean that God has given up on us? I certainly pray that is not the case. Considering that God is being taken out of our schools and public places as well as a very heated drive to hide God from the public at any cost, I can only consider that the ones behind this movement is aware their time is short to deceive us and lead us to damnation and death permanently. With out faith and hope we are all domed and that is what the evil doers want.

With faith and hope in the Lord Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit, We are saved from the bottomless pit of death. We will become the new heirs to all that is in the new Heaven and new Jerusalem. Eternal life is ours for the taking by repenting of our sins and asking God for forgiveness in Jesus name. While we are still here on earth we must continue to serve the Lord in winning more souls to Christ. As it is stated our time is short and we must be ready when Jesus comes to take His church up to heaven. Yet there is still much to do.

Will you be ready?

ARE YOU READY? PART TWO

Jesus transfiguration. Matthew 17.
Thanks to Bobbie for the picture.

Concerning the two witnesses that stood on a street and prophesied for 42 months, We can only imagine it was Moses and Elijah as scriptures did not elaborate who they were. In Matthew 17: 1-13 it was said to be Moses and Elijah with Jesus during His transfiguration. Read verse 11 to 13 and see who the disciples understood Elijah to be. Just something to ponder.

In the first half of the tribulation we see the anti Christ come to power over the world and raise Babylon into a world trade center for commerce and the anti Christ' center of power. He allows the Prophets to prophesize for 42 months but that is coming to an end soon. During this time the earth encounters several disasters sent by the angels trumpets from falling stars to earthquakes, fires, and bitter waters as prophesied. There were locust that came up from a bottomless pit that descended on the earth and tormented all but they were told not to harm the ones with the seal of God on their foreheads. It has been said in some books that the ones that repented of their sins during the tribulations may have also been spared as they may have the seal of God on their for heads.

More actions fell down on the earth in the form of fire that consumed 1/3rd of the earth and darkened the skies and heavens. There was a mounted army that totaled 200 million that went forth and killed 1/3rd of all the people of the earth. I can only imagine from a technical stand point that God used all the cosmic items in space to hurtle them to earth to sway the non believers into repenting of their sins but many failed again to do so. In Revelations 10:1-4 I can only wonder what was not to be repeated yet.

At this point, I am led to believe that the anti Christ was killed some how but was resurrected and this may be the point that the devil or Satan himself took over his body to rule the earth. The seven heads and ten crowns I would imagine may have been the organization of the anti Christ movement. It could be nations that bore allegiance to the anti Christ. After his Resurrection, the people left worshiped him and built a statue that could talk and demanded that all worship the beast ( statue) of face death. This is the time that all would receive the mark of the beast on the forehead or the right hand. This is also the time that ones refusing the mark were put to death in multitudes of tens of millions. The evil one also desecrated the Holy temple by shedding blood at the altar in defiance of God all the while creating his own miracles and healing.

At this point, the two prophets were murdered by the evil one ( Satan) and no one was to remove the bodies. For 3&1/2 days their bodies lay waste in the hot sun. On the last day, God breathed life back into their bodies and they arose to heaven while the unbelievers trembled in terror. All the while God was still offering His grace to the ones would repent before passing out the last 7 bowls of Gods wrath to the ones who still refused to repent. The last plagues and terrors were poured out over the earth and many suffered and begged to die for relief but none was in sight for the Lord was giving them one more chance to repent.

Now we have Babylon ( the great Prostitute). It is desecrated and it will lay in ruins once again but still God calls out for these yet to repent to vacate that city and many still refuse.

All the armies and nations of this world in alliance with Satan gathered at Armageddon to do battle with the Lords armies. On this point I would imagine we are going to have a war so immense and technically advanced that we may not even be able to comprehend. There will be super natural powers and battle gear that hasn't even been thought of yet on both sides. I would imagine it will be pretty gory for Satan's alliance of nations.

Then comes Judgement for all as the Lord resides over the world to bring forth a new heaven and earth. There will be joyous singing and praises from all the angels of the Lord. A new Jerusalem comes down from God for all to dwell. There will be no need for light as Gods presence gives out the light that is needed. There will be no temple for God is the temple and the throne. Crystal clear rivers of water will flow from the throne for it will be the water of life. There will be trees of life that will bear the twelve crops of fruit to feed the masses and the leaves will be used as medicine to heal the nations.

All that have accepted Jesus as their saviour and God as their Father will dwell in the new world in peace for ever. There will be no sickness or illnesses. We will all have new transformed bodies in perfection as is in Jesus. We will sing praises to the Lord and give him our thanks and praise for all that he has done for us. Blessed are these days for we will soon be in the presence of the Lord.

Will you be ready?

ARE YOU READY? A LOOK AT REVELATIONS

If the rapture was to happen tomorrow would you be ready? I would imagine it would catch many by surprise. As Jesus told the apostles that followed Him" I will come like a thief in the night to gather up my church. Be ready. I nor the angels in heaven know of the time that I will return but only My Father."

In Revelations, John in his visions gave descriptions that were difficult for him to describe and left us in confusion as to what they meant. Many I would imagine can best be described as Metaphors as best as he could describe considering this was two thousand years ago. His descriptions of Jesus is a bit clearer albet the two edged sword coming out of His mouth. Revelations 1:10to20. As we have all read in scriptures a preview of Jesus new being and who He is was revealed in Matthew 17: 1-8 .

As some scholars reveal, Jesus first return to earth will be the beginning of the tribulations called the Rapture. As Jesus returns, He will take His church up into the heavens so it will not suffer the tribulations to follow. His church being the believers in Jesus. On that fateful day, two will be in the fields and one will disappear. In today's terminology one might consider a subway train traveling along and people begin to disappear mysteriously. The same goes for a busy street corner. Some will disappear and some will remain.The people disappearing will be a part of the church or body of Christ and are believers. The rest that remain will have to face the coming tribulations as they failed to believe in what was prophesied in the scriptures.As they ascend to heaven they will be transformed with new bodies that we can only imagine will have no faults or pains. The bodies will be of a super natural being glorified in Gods image.

However, God is a merciful God and is offering the yet non believers another chance to come into His grace and be saved. In this time there will be appointed 144,000 that will receive a seal of God on their for heads. They will be pure and sinless. They will be members of the twelve tribes of Israel. They will be appointed to preach the scriptures to convince the remaining non believers to repent of their sins and turn to God. I would consider they will have all the latest communications devices at their disposal

Around this time the anti Christ will appear in full force deceiving the masses with his trickery and lies just as it had been prophesied in the scriptures. The anti Christ will have power over the world and rebuild Babylon as a world trade center of great wealth. Another instance of Gods grace is when the two witnesses descend from heaven to preach day and night for 1203 score days. It is said they are Moses and Elijah and have the power to strike down all that try to harm them as well as have power over the weather, the heavens, and the rains. What they preach will be heard through out the world by all beings. Here again probably through communications like what we have today. Here again is the patience that God has for us that do not believe yet to repent of their sins for he loves us all, sinners and believers both. Sadly many will not heed his warnings and will face more severe tribulations and warnings to repent.

So here we have a God that is trying through his love to save more of us from damnation and at the same time we have the anti Christ working his magic trying to convince us to worship him through deceit and lies. It has been said the anti Christ also uses miracles and healing powers to sway the undecided to his favor but it is only a fasad for his real purpose.

More to come in part two.