Author: hillturnfs

2. Forgive others:

We’re living in a fallen sin-filled world where strife and conflict is constantly stoked by Satan. It’s all around us. Forgiveness is not that easy to do even for believers. It takes real effort on our part. It’s so easy to harden our hearts to slights, both real and imagined, but in the end we do far more injury to ourselves than to others.  As disciples of Christ we desperately need God’s forgiveness of our trespasses, which God will freely do on one condition. In Matthew 18:35, Jesus says if we do not forgive others then God will not forgive us.

Therefore we must immediately forgive all those we hold grudges against. Take your grievances to God every day in prayer and give it to Him to handle. Forgive the transgressors and then forget about it. Move on with your life.  You don’t know what’s inside a person, what they’re coping with. Only God can read the thoughts of men and assess the condition of the heart. Only God is the righteous judge of the deeds of men done in the flesh, whether good or bad. Scripture makes it clear it’s up to God alone to repay for evil done on earth. Ask God for the spirit of forgiveness every day  as you emulate Jesus in your walk with God.

3. Don’t judge others:

Not judging others goes hand in hand with forgiving others. They are two sides of the same coin. The Bible is full of prophecies and Scripture warning against judging others. Judging others is also the responsibility of God alone and we are commanded by God not to do it or we risk condemnation ourselves. Ask God in prayer to help you not to judge others.

1 Corinthians 4:5 – Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

Romans 14:10 – But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ.

Romans 14:12-13 – So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge on another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

Romans 7:1-2 – Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

1. We must never lose heart:

As Christians in a fallen world we are under constant mental attack from Satan. We also know from Bible prophecy that the world will continue to descend into chaos as we get closer to the end times. As believers we also know that we’re not immune from the calamities of this world. We must cleave to God and never forget God’s promises.

2 Corinthians 4:14-16 – He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sake, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We know from the above Scriptures that our eternal destiny in heaven is secure. We know God loves us and will never forsake us. We know we are weak and we must lean on the strength of Jesus through prayer and let God continue the work of sanctifying the inner man.  Every morning when you get up go to a quiet place and speak to God in prayer.  Be sober. Be determined to press forward with the race God have given you and not to lose heart. Accept whatever God gives you and continually praise and glorify His name. We know that the God who loves us will work all things to the benefit of those who love Him.

The more I study God’s Word the more stunned I am how much God loves us. The Creator of the universe loves us, His special creation, with a boundless love that we’ll probably not understand this side of heaven. The Bible is God’s love letter to His beloved children. Always be secure in the knowledge that God will always do what is best for you even though you may not understand it at the time. Trust God. Have faith in His mercy, grace and love.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Matthew 18:14 – Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

John 3:37 – All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

John 6:39 – This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

John 6:40 – And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:44 – No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 – For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Psalm 66:5 – Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in his doings toward the sons of men.

Isaiah 66:18 – For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all the nations and tongues, and they shall come and see My glory.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 – Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Isaiah 45:22 – Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Many Bible scholars contend the two witnesses of God that prophesy in Jerusalem during the first 42 months of the tribulation are the prophets Moses and Elijah. Everyone thinks this because those are the two prophets seen during the Transfiguration on a high mountain talking to a glorified Christ by the disciples Peter, James and John.  The two situations are totally different. The Transfiguration was a revelation, a composite, of the future rapture of the church when the Lord in all His glory meets in the air with the raptured saints alive at that time represented by Elijah, who is alive.  The resurrected dead in Christ are supposedly represented by Moses, who died.

Elijah is alive in heaven today in his natural body because he was transported to heaven by God’s own chariot in the presence of Elisha the prophet, who replaced Elijah. The consensus is Elijah is one of the two witnesses during the tribulation, not only because he is currently living in heaven, but also because God tells us so in the following Scripture:

Malachi 4:5 – Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

Revelation 11:3 – And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

Hebrews 9:27 – It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.

The only controversy is the identity of the second witness and God doesn’t tell us who he is.  During the Transfiguration we’ve been assuming Moses was already in his immortal glorified body but what if he wasn’t?  Could it really  be Moses with Elijah?  Moses died before the Israelites entered the promised land I’m thinking Moses can’t die twice, that is unless God brought him back to life.  There is another possibility.  I’ve always been puzzled why Satan and the archangel Michael were fighting over the body of Moses.  What benefit was there in that?  Could it be Michael was retrieving the body of Moses to take it to heaven so Moses could be brought back to life in his natural body in anticipation of his call to be one of the two witnesses in Jerusalem during the great tribulation?

I’ve always thought the second witness is the prophet Enoch, seventh from Adam, whose righteousness pleased God so much he was translated to heaven and never suffered death. The Bible only mentions two prophets who were translated to heaven in their natural bodies, Enoch and Elijah.  According to biblical accounts, only these two people meet the qualifications of being both a prophet and alive in heaven. Could it be that from the beginning God intended that these two men of faith would glorify His name by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem during the tribulation?  One thing is certain, the second witness is either Moses or Enoch.

The Old Testament is full of Scriptures that reference the Second Coming of Jesus and the Millennium. For example, take the minor prophet Hosea, who wrote his short book around 715 BC. Look at the following verses:

Hosea 6:1-2 – Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.

Nobody living in Hosea’s day understood this prophecy, not even Hosea himself.  It’s only after the birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus that the meaning of the above verses can be interpreted.  Hosea is pleading with Israel to return to the Lord, the Messiah, at some future unspecified date.  That means God must have distanced Himself from Israel also at some future unspecified date.  We know that Jesus Christ fulfilled Scripture when He came to Israel as their Messiah.  The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus and crucified Him in 33 AD.  From the Bible we know that when Jesus was cut off God distanced Himself from the Jews, simultaneously ushering in the time of the Gentiles, which we call the church age.  That’s what Hosea meant when he said Israel was torn and stricken.  Hosea goes on to say God will rescue His people by healing and binding them after the separation.  We know the time of the Gentiles officially started Pentecost, 50 days after the ascension Jesus.  The  the church age ends at the rapture.

In the second verse Hosea indicates this restoration of Israel will occur after two days and on day three God will glorify the Jews and bring them to live with Him.  Remember the Scripture where it says a day to God is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day.  That verse applies here and each day referred to in Hosea is a thousand years.  That means the church age will be 2 days , or 2,000 years long, and in the past God has been precise with His timing.  The third day in Hosea refers to the Second Coming of Christ where He will judge the nations and save the Jewish remnant, and raise them up to a place of honor during for 1 day, the  1,000 year Millennial reign of Christ.  There’s a parallel between creation and human history.  God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day.  God has decreed 7,000 years for human history, 1,000 years for each God day of creation.  From creation to Abraham was 2,000 years.  From Abraham to Jesus was 2,000 years.  From Jesus to the Second Coming will be 2,000 years.  As God rested on the 7th day we will also rest in the Lord for a day (1,000 year Millennium).

The number 7 in God’s economy signifies completeness.  Jesus died at Passover in 33 AD and 2,000 years later would be Passover of 2033.  For God to fulfill His Word in Hosea Jesus can’t return before this date.  I believe God will rapture the church four months after Pentecost, at the Feast of Trumpets in 2033.  The Apostle Paul said we would be reunited with Jesus in the air at the sound of the last trump, which I think is a clue that our rapture happens during this festival.  I think Israel will sign a peace treaty 9 days until after the rapture, on the Day of Atonement.  Jesus will return to earth exactly 7 years to the day after the treaty is signed.  It’s okay to go over 2,000 years and still fulfill Scripture but not under.  According to Scripture once the time of the Gentiles has been fulfilled God will turn to Israel for the last 7 years allotted to them before the Second Coming. If the Jews signed their peace treaty on the day of Atonement in 2033 then Jesus would set foot on the Mount of Olives on the Day of Atonement in 2040 and judge the nations.  Five days after that is the Feast of Tabernacles begins and the parallel there is Jesus establishing His earthly kingdom.

There is only one God in heaven and He’s a jealous God, not willing to share His glory with another. The one God is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In His mercy, grace and love toward us, His special creation, God has given us His Word so that we might know Him. The Holy Bible is God’s Word and the only book holy before the Lord.  Woe to any man who stands before the Lord on the last day having worshipped a false god and having followed a false holy book. The first commandment of God is to, “have no other gods before Me.”  It’s your responsibility to look at the evidence and decide for yourself. Don’t worry about being politically correct. Go where the facts lead you.

Only a fool believes there are multiple paths to God. That’s the false narrative Satan wants you to believe. All religions are not the same. All gods are not the same. Allah is not another name for our God. Jehovah is the one and only God and the way to heaven is through a narrow gate and many will not find it.  The Koran and the Book of Mormon are not holy books so do not be led astray by them. Christianity and Judaism are from God.  All other religions are from Satan and meant to divert man away from the truth of the gospel of Christ.

The Holy Bible is 28% prophecy and contains over 1,000 prophecies, over 500 of which have already been fulfilled and documented.  The success rate is 100% for prophecies fulfilled in their appointed time. God has given us prophecies to prove to us that He is God, that He knows the end from the beginning. As the Author of history God wants us to know Him and be prepared for what is to come.  All the other religions of the world do not even have one fulfilled prophecy between them because they are all fake religions. It’s impossible to read the entire Bible without coming to faith, if you have an open mind. The Holy Spirit will commune with your spirit to confirm the truth of our God. In the book of Isaiah God issues a challenge to all those who seek the one true God:

Isaiah 44:6-8 – Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people.  And the things that are coming and shall come, let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.

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.