Month: February 2020

I know only God knows the date and exact time of the rapture. But for those of us who love the rapture we can’t help trying to figure out the date based on clues in God’s Word. I’ve spent several hours trying to pin down a rapture date, which is virtually impossible.  We can come up with a time window, a range of dates, that have a high probability for the rapture occurring during that time.  God loves numbers and they mean something to God. The number seven signifies completeness in God’s economy.

In Genesis it says God created the heavens, the earth, and all living things on the earth in a literal period of six 24 hour days. On the seventh day God rested. God wasn’t tired so why did He rest?  In a double meaning of the Scriptures God was modeling human history for us, telling us the end from the beginning. God’s seventh day of rest represents the seventh day of human history, the 1,000 days we know as the Millennium, when Jesus will rule the earth from Jerusalem. The saints will rest in the peace of God.

2 Peter 3:8 – But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

I have pondered the above verse for a long time trying to figure it out without much success. It makes sense now. God also loves the number 1,000 and for each day of creation God has allotted man 1,000 years on earth so here we have the answer to the riddle. One day is 1,000 years and vice versa. The creation account in Genesis has a parallel meaning that reveals the extent of human history and its end. God has literally shown us the end from the beginning.  God has allotted 6,000 years of human history before the last 1,000 years of the Millennium. From creation to Abraham was two days, or 2,000 years. From Abraham to Jesus was two days, or 2,000 years.

The last two days, or 2,000 years is from Jesus until the end of human history, which we know as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. God cannot violate His Word so the 1.000 year God days will be a full 1,000 years long. The days can go over but they can’t be less that 1,000 years.  God is usually precise with His timing so the trick is to figure out where to start marking time. We start counting the last 2,000 years of human history from the death of Jesus on the cross because His shed blood established the New Covenant of salvation by faith and ushered in the church age, the time of the Gentiles. Historians think Jesus died on Passover in 33 AD. 2,000 years later is 2033 AD.

Jesus will not set up His Millennium kingdom before that date. If God chooses the earliest possible date then the rapture would occur exactly seven years before that, My best guess for the earliest possible rapture date is Passover on 2026.  We may have only six years left before a peace agreement is signed by Israel starting the clock on the last 7 years of human history.  The time known as the tribulation.  The rapture will also occur around that time and the Spirit of God, which is currently restraining Satan, will be removed.      

I’ve come up with a possible rapture as early as Pentecost in 2026 and as late as Pentecost in 2061.  Pentecost is 50 days after Passover and is the date the church age actually started because the Holy Spirit came down from God to indwell the disciples of Christ so they could begin witnessing to the nations.  This holiday starts at sundown on the sixth day of third month in the Hebrew calendar (Sivan).  Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Harvests and marks the completion of the harvest.  This feast marks the harvest of grain meant to feed the people of Israel  but, in a double meaning, could it also represent the completion of the soul harvest by God before He brings His judgement on the earth? 

The rapture marks the completion of God’s harvest of souls for the kingdom of God.  Is this just a coincidence or does God plan to rapture the church at the end of the Jewish Feast of Harvests?  By studying God’s Word, prayer and keeping our eyes on events in the Middle East believers will have a good idea when Jesus is coming back for us. We’re all told to watch for His coming and “occupy until He comes”.  All Christians will know through the media the exact date of any peace deal signed by Israel.  All believers will know the significance and should gather with their families and praise God for His great mercy. 

Christians know the next major act of God will be the rapture of the church where Jesus will appear in the air and call all believers, both dead and alive, to Himself before returning to heaven with them. This will include all the saints who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Just going to church or being a member of the church won’t help you. Faith in Jesus is the only way to join the body of Christ and enter heaven.  Christians in every generation have had their eyes on the heavens waiting expectantly for the Second Coming of the Lord and we’re no different. It’s human nature for us to think that way. Our time table isn’t God’s time table but we know God’s timing is perfect because He knows all things.

Prophetically, nothing else has to occur prior to the rapture so what is God waiting for? God dearly loves every human being he has created and He wants us all to accept the grace of His salvation. God is waiting as long as He can in the hope of gathering in a few more saints before the church is raptured to heaven.  The second reason the rapture hasn’t happened yet is human events haven’t reached the tipping point. Some people think the rapture could happen anytime and then there could be a period of years between the rapture and the signing of the peace agreement with Israel that triggers the seven year tribulation period. That’s absurd!

If God wants to save everyone He can why would He allow any timespan between the rapture and the tribulation?  I believe the rapture will occur simultaneously with the signing of the Israel peace agreement or nearly so. We need to forget about looking skyward and instead keep our eyes on Jerusalem because Israel is the apple of God’s eye and the key to prophetic history.  Why is our generation any different than the rest? What makes us think Jesus will return in our time?  God is revealing more and more end time events from the Bible to the saints because they pertain to our time. We all understand the end time prophetic clock started clicking when Israel once again became a nation on May 14, 1948. Scripture says the generation that sees the rebirth of Israel will not all die before Jesus returns to earth so we can be sure we are in the end times of human history.

On May 14, 2020, 72 years will have passed since the birth of Israel.  The world’s oldest person died recently at age 116. A person born in 1948 living to the age of 116 would die in 2064. Using simple math, Jesus must return no later than 2064. Keep in mind God could keep one person alive as long as He wanted to so as to not violate the Word.  Using our estimate, the rapture would occur exactly seven years prior to the Second Coming or in 2057 at the latest.  That is only 37 years from now.  In my next blog I’ll discuss why I think the rapture will come much sooner than that.  Either way, our job is to serve the Lord and “occupy until He comes!”

We’ve identified the spiritual battles going on all around us in a previous blog. Our guardian angels are fighting hand to hand with demons bent on our destruction. We’ve also previously discussed the worldly battles we can see playing out before us as foretold by God in the book of Revelations.  The last piece of the puzzle is the nexus between the physical and spiritual worlds which is within our heart, mind and soul. Our battleground is our mind and the battle is within us.  On the physical front we still have our sin nature inherited from Adam and his original sin. The desires of the flesh are part of our human nature. Our sin nature encompasses our emotions too. Satan finds it easy to use the weaknesses of our sin nature against us. On our own against the power of Satan we are virtually defenseless. Only when we are strengthened by Almighty God can we defeat Satan, which is what God promises to those who love Him.

The Lord has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit who will empower us to overcome the devil. God has also provided us with His Word to instruct us how to resist Satan and bring God on the scene to defend us against the powers of darkness. The Bible is the Sword of the Spirit and a mighty offensive weapon against demons.  When we give control of our lives to God the Holy Spirit can control our emotions and behaviors so that we can be victorious against the wiles of Satan. Knowledge of the Bible through reading and personal study will give us the wisdom to claim and maintain the promises of God for our lives. In summary, identify your enemy and know him, gird yourself for spiritual battle through knowledge and then claim the victory!

Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Romans 8:26 – The Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Romans 8:31 – If God is for us who can be against us?

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Once we become a child of God we’re instantly in the minority on this planet and we have a target on our backs. Satan is the god of this fallen world and the world is in his sway. Most people live to please others or themselves but Christians are called upon to please God by following His commands and emulating Christ. This will put us at odds with everyone who doesn’t know our God and we’ll be shunned and persecuted for our faith. The Bible tells us to expect it and prepare for it.  God is not of this world and once we become sons of God neither are we, Our citizenship is in heaven. Our dwelling place in heaven has already been prepared for us. While on this earth we are instructed to obey God and not follow the norms of this world.

We are to live at peace with everyone as much as possible and to obey our government as long as it conforms to the commands of God. If it comes down to obeying the world or obeying God always obey God and live with the consequences. We will suffer for God.  The world is a dangerous place and God only leaves us here so we can witness for Christ and live our lives so we shine before men and attract some to the gospel of truth. God doesn’t want even one sinner to suffer damnation so He waits as long as possible for His harvest to come in. That’s where we come in. As disciples of Christ we are to share the gospel with unbelievers and thereby save some for God’s kingdom.

The reason God hasn’t raptured His church already is because He is patiently waiting for more lost souls to be saved. When God’s harvest is full Jesus will come to the earth again in power and glory to judge the nations and set up His millennial kingdom in Jerusalem. Until then, stay in God’s Word, continue to pray daily for God’s guidance, strength and protection. Witness for Christ and do good works in fellowship with other believers as long as you can.

Romans 12:12 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

John 17:14-16 – I have given them Your Word; and the world has hated them because they are not of this world, just as I am not of this world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

We have to believe in the spiritual ream before we can engage in the spiritual battle going on all around us.  Most Christians either dismiss the spiritual battle we’re in or they stick their heads in the sand and don’t want to know about it.  Whether we like it or not the spiritual battle has come to us and we must defend ourselves or perish.  This struggle has been ongoing since Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden when Satan became the god of this world.  Just because we can’t see the spirit realm doesn’t mean it’s not there. We can’t see gravity or magnetism but we know they’re real because we can see their effects in physical ways we can see. We have proof that Jesus came, that God exists and that the Holy Bible is God’s Word.  The spirit realm is mentioned all through the Bible so we can know with certainty that it exists and who our enemies are.

God informs us that Satan and his fallen angels (demons) are our adversaries and they are out to utterly destroy mankind. They hate God and oppose Him at every turn. Since we are God’s special creation we take the brunt of that wrath because the powers of darkness can’t touch God so they lash out at us. The demons can’t touch us physically but they can influence our minds and emotions from the spirit realm.  Demons are spiritual beings who continually attack our minds and emotions. They stir up hatred, cause strife in our lives and try to convince us God doesn’t love us and we have no hope. The demons prey on us by influencing us, confusing us, frustrating us, and leading us away from the gospel of truth to quench the peace and salvation that God has promised us. We must learn hand to hand combat for the spiritual realm.

Do you want proof? The Jewish people are God’s chosen people so Satan hates them the most. Satan has inflamed the emotions of the rest of the world against the Jews for centuries. There is no other logical reason for the Jews to be persecuted like they have been. Some people accuse the Jews of killing Jesus but it was actually the Romans. The Romans are really just Italians so why aren’t Italians persecuted like the Jews?  Human beings are such easy prey for the forces of darkness. We’re blindsided because we aren’t even aware we’re in a fight. The first thing to do is realize we’re in a fight for our lives and we aren’t strong enough to win this fight on our own strength.

The demons are simply too powerful for us. We must lean on God through prayer and His Word.  Since the demons are spirit and we are flesh and blood the only person who can protect us is God.  The only weapon that will protect us is the Bible.  God has given us His Word, the Bible, which is the ultimate spirit weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, with which to defend ourselves against the forces of darkness. Countless times in the Bible God tells us to study the Bible for knowledge, understanding and wisdom so we can protect ourselves from evil and do the will of God.  Obey God by knowing your Bible in depth by reading Scripture every day.  The best defense is a strong offense. Knowing we’re in a fight is half the battle and God gives us everything we need to be victorious with His Word.

1 Peter 5:8 – Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

James 4:7 – Therefore submit to god. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

God in His mercy, grace and love gave us His Word that we may know Him, that we may know what is to come, and that we can have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. God’s Word, the Holy Bible, is 28% prophecy, and prophecy is the writing of history before it happens.  God did this to prove that He is the Author of history and by fulfilling prophecy God also proves He not only exists, He is sovereign over His creation.  All other religions combined have not fulfilled even 1 prophecy.

2 Peter 1:21 – For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The underlying theme of every book of the Bible is the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God came to earth in the flesh to redeem fallen man by His death on the cross as payment for our sins.  Every book of the Bible also confirms God’s love for us, His special creation, and God’s desire that we live with Him in heaven forever. Praise God for His love and faithfulness!

Ephesians 1:4-5 – Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

God planned every cell of our being, every hair on our head. God knows us because He made us. God made us how He wanted us. Be at peace with who you are and what you have for it is God’s will for you. We’re only visiting while we’re on the earth. Our citizenship is in heaven. We will be royalty in heaven one day as sons of the Most High God. We are joint-heirs with Jesus to the kingdom of God.

Scripture says we cannot comprehend the riches God will give to those who love Him. You prove your love for God by obeying His commands for our lives.  God’s most important command is to witness for Christ, sharing the gospel with unbelievers.   In Scripture Jesus says those who obey His commands are those who love Him.  We show our love for God by our obedience.  In the Bible God speaks the truth and He is not given to hyperbole or exaggeration. Those who witness for Christ can look forward to the following:

Daniel 12:3 – And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

The number of Christians who are actively looking for ways to witness is vey small. Only 10% of Christians who regularly attend church have read the Bible in its entirely even once and this is something each of us should do yearly.  The Christians who actually study God’s Word make up a much smaller percentage.  Fewer and fewer Christians read their Bibles every day.  Most Christians depend on their church or pastor to tell them what the Bible says.  They are being spoon fed their faith which is always a dangerous thing in these end times when false teachings and false prophets will abound.  Know what you believe and why you believe it.  Devote yourself to the study of God’s Word.  Don’t put it off another day.

The better you know God’s Word the better your witness will be. Our mission for God is spelled out clearly in the Scriptures for everyone to see but only a few are obeying God’s command as they should. I feel like the Lone Ranger here working all by myself.  I need your help.  I’ve made the decision to follow the commands of my Lord to the best of my ability for as long as I live and trust in Jesus for the increase. My motto is and always will be “One more for Jesus.”  My goal in life is to help save one person from the gates of hell.  Once that is accomplished my new goal is to save one more, and then another.  My focus is on saving “one more for Jesus,”  one person at a time, for as long as I can.  I’ll only stop when God brings me home and not before.

John 15:5 – He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Galatians 6:9 – And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Matthew 10:32 – Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father which is in heaven.

Psalm 19:7 – The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.

1 Corinthians 9:16 – Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

John 4:36 – And he that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit unto eternal life; that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together.

Isaiah 52:7 – How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things.

Luke 14:23 – And the Lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled.

Isaiah 58:10 – If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday sun.

One thing is certain.  Every believer will one day stand before the bema judgement seat of Jesus to receive their reward for works done in the body. Once we died to sin through faith in Jesus we became soldiers of Christ and our life is no longer our own.  As troopers for the Lord we are left here on earth to praise God and glorify His name by emulating Christ Jesus in all we do.  Our orders are to witness for Christ to the ends of the earth to all the unbelievers. This is our prime directive, the first command from God to the saints and the thing that is dearest to God’s heart. It’s the main reason God has left us here on earth. Of secondary importance is doing good works.  When we witness we are also emulating Christ. 

Jesus came and died on the cross to save sinners. Jesus ascended back to heaven and left it up to us to share the “good news” of the gospel with the world. Jesus is depending on us to be workers in God’s harvest field to save some for the kingdom of God.  Someone brought God’s saving grace to us and we owe it other lost souls to pay it forward. How can you live with yourself knowing you didn’t do everything possible to keep a brother or sister out of hell for eternity? They must be warned!  They must be won!  Imagine you’re standing before Jesus for your reward and you’ve never saved anyone, witnessed to anyone, or sown the gospel seed to anyone. You never did the main thing God asked you to do! What do you expect Jesus to do?  Are you expecting Jesus to say “well done”?  I don’t think so.  No matter what other works you do it all goes up in flames as the Scripture says, like hay, straw and stubble. Jesus will be displeased with your effort.

You’ll get into heaven by the skin of your teeth but you won’t receive a reward for works done in the body from the Father which will impact you forever, and we’re talking about an eternity of billions and billions of years. The Bible contains dozens of verses where God is telling us to witness for him so we are without excuse.  So you see, I have no choice, I must obey my Lord’s command.  I must find a way to impact God’s kingdom with the time remaining to me on this earth. You have the same challenges I do now that you know. You have your orders!  I have my orders!  Let’s do it!  Let’s roll!

Isaiah 32:20 – Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.

Ecclesiastes 11:1 – Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.

Mark 16:15-16 – Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Matthew 9:37-38 – The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Daniel 12:3 – And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Matthew 4:19 – Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

Mark 1:17 – Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.

MORE CONCEPTS FROM THE TONGUE BY CHARLES CAPPS:

Continually affirm what God’s Word says.
God’s Word is forever settled in heaven.
Satan’s ability is limited to what he can get you to say.
The human body has God-given natural healing ability.
In the Word God it says you can have what you say.
God wants you to be well and prosperous.
Establish God’s Word here on earth.
Satan came to steal the Word.
God’s Word is His wisdom.
A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth.
God will perfects that which concerns me.
The Word is a sword to defeat the devil.

Your words can either release the ability of God within you or the ability of Satan to control you.

Once you’ve prayed the solution shut up and stand there. Things will work out if you have believed in God.

Any thought that comes into your head, if it doesn’t agree with the Word, is from the devil. Don’t quote it! Satan doesn’t have any power over the believer other than the ability to deceive.

Fear activates the devil and faith brings God onto the scene. Faith is the victory!

Jesus is the go-between to transmit our prayers to God, as long as they conform to the Word in faith.

Jesus delivered us from the curse of the law (poverty, sickness and spiritual death).

God’s Word is the only true knowledge. It will make you stable even in an unstable world.

Speaking God’s Word will bring God on the scene, “I am watching over my Word to perform it.”

No weapon formed against me shall prosper and whatever I do will prosper.

My God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

MORE CONCEPTS FROM THE TONGUE BY CHARLES CAPPS:

The God kind of faith works by the words of your mouth. It is released by the spoken word.

Everything produces after its own kind in both the natural and spiritual worlds.

The Word is what works. Jesus said you can have what you want through the knowledge of God. God never did anything without saying it.

The Word is the final authority so be motivated only by what you believe.

If you don’t stumble with your words you are a perfect man and able to bring your whole nature into obedience.

Only the Holy Spirit can tame man’s tongue. The Holy Spirit works on man from the inside out.

Since we are the body of Christ we can drive sickness and disease out of our body with the words of our mouth.

Learn to operate in the, “Ability of God,”  by releasing it through faith-filled words from your mouth.

The body will obey words. The body has to be trained to act upon the word. Your body obeys the commands of your mind.

Jesus bore our sickness also…”with His stripes we are healed.”  The enemy can’t put anything on you without your consent.

In the beginning was God, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. God and His Word are one. God wants us to be well and prosperous. Pray in the name of Jesus to make it so.

God’s Word is filled with faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Where His Word is (your heart) so is your faith. God’s words produce faith in your heart and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

That which is formed by the tongue and spoken out of the mouth, those words, will either create good or evil. Words have creative power.