Are We There Yet?

For those of us who have raised children, you might remember the question. There was a commercial, as I recall, that used the question to emphasize one product or the other in a humorous way.

Children in the back seat of the car in the commercial kept asking, “Are we there yet?”

We who transported our young kids on those times – especially on longer trips to Grandmas or other destinations – have heard that question, often in whining tones as time went on. I certainly remember hearing it. And I’m sure my parents heard it on those long trips from Pekin, Illinois, where we lived when I was a child, on the road to Hampton, my grandparent’s home in south Arkansas.

At this late moment of this Church Age I, myself, seem to be whining this question, and I’m hearing it from others on a growing basis.

“Are we there yet?”

It is coming from God’s children – believers in Jesus Christ who, like myself, sometimes grow weary –or vexed – as ol’ Lot might have put it while enduring to the end his time in Sodom.

“Are we there yet?” That is, how long before we reach the end of our Lord’s tolerance for the evil flourishing all around us while we keep looking up,” as my friend the late J.R. Church used to put it at the close of his Prophecy In The News TV program each week.

Each and every day – actually, each and every news cycle – we are inundated with end-times storm warnings. And it seems as if the Words of Warning from the Chief Prophetic Meteorologist of all history is speaking directly to those who, as commanded by Him – are “watching in order to discern where this generation stands on God’s Prophetic Timeline.

Jesus gave the signals to look for as Earth’s inhabitants near the outbreak of history’s most virulent turbulence – that of the Tribulation era. The following is that Storm warning.

“Are we there yet?” Is that great storm of the ages about to invade at this particular time? Let’s listen again to that Heaven-Sent Forecast that we can rely on as 100% accurate because it was issued by God Himself.

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt 24:6-13).

Heaven’s Prophetic Forecast, of course, covers a broad scope of history, so many parts of this Olivet Discourse prophecy by Jesus applies to much of history that has already un-scrolled since He issued this Prophetic Weather Bulletin. Let us very briefly dissect this Warning, first in terms of its broad, historical sense.

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars.”

Hundreds of wars have afflicted humanity since Jesus spoke these words. The greatest wars of all time, World Wars One and Two, have caused the deaths of millions. The Romans waged war on the Jews, the Temple was destroyed, and the Jewish people scattered to all the world.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”

As a matter of fact, it has been ethnic disputes and warfare that have wrought the deaths of millions across the world.

“And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

Earthquakes have continued to rumble throughout history, while the wars have brought famine and disease to countless generations. We have seen in our brief time on the planet as of late, a tremendous increase in these things.

“All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

These great troubles have been accumulative. They have indeed been like birth pangs, growing more intensive and coming in greater frequency.

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”

The history of hatred of the Jews is in full view of the eyes of the world. The Nazi holocaust is the number one sign of history that highlights the satanic hatred God’s chosen people have endured. Their rejection of the very name of Jesus Christ and their being blamed for His crucifixion has been the basis Satan has used to incite the world against all of Israel.

So history has proven the absolute accuracy of Jesus’ Prophetic Forecast. But it is the question “Are we there yet?” I wish to address with regard to whether this generation has reached the moment when the Lord will say enough is enough and call believers to Himself so the greatest Storm of all history can rage upon a world ripe for Judgment.

We must place the same template over what is going on at this very moment to try to help answer, “Are we there yet?”

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars.”

The most profound threat of nuclear conflict of history might now be in the offing. Even the Cold War could not match the danger. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) was effective, as the world’s two greatest superpowers were able to control escalation into man’s final war.

Not so now. There seems no control, as the power centers with the nuclear weapons are scattered around the globe, and many decision-makers among the most diabolical of their leaders seem bent on having their way, regardless of possible ramifications of all-out nuclear war.

The primary cause of the conflict again centers around ethnic differences and demands. Greatest among these conflicts is the hatred of the Jews and of Israel by their neighboring countries.

And that hatred has expanded to include many within nations of Europe and even the United States of America.

The seas and waves of peoples are roaring in that the protests against the Jews and Israel are front and center in even what is generally considered the civilized West.

At this very moment, even some among the Jewish people themselves are shouting along with the Israel-haters, “Stop the genocide,” and “From the river to the sea.”

As Jesus forewarned, these Jews on the politically ideological left are “betraying one another.” The genocidal rage is building swiftly toward another holocaust. Jesus also had a forecast about this evil that will mark the very end of the age.

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt 24:21).

And hatred is building, too, against the Church – all believers in Jesus Christ and His Message of being the One and Only Way to Salvation (John 14:6).

The comment by a legal defense fund for Christian persecution states the following:

Biden is empowering the radical Left to wage a surreptitious war on our Christian faith – prayer, churches, the Bible, and even Christian kids sharing their faith in school are all under attack. The Biden FBI has even placed spies in churches and targeted “radical traditionalist” Christians for investigation…

We’re in court right now defending a teacher who was banned from praying anywhere a student might see her.

I’ve never seen anything like it…  [Source: Jordan Sekulow, ACLJ Executive Director]

While unbelieving Jews must undergo the Tribulation Storm to bring forth a Remnant that will bring about God’s great Promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, believers of this Church Age (Age of Grace) will be taken (paralambano) to be with Jesus in the Clouds of Glory – In the Rapture. All indicators are that we have come to be right smack in the breaking turbulence of Jesus’ forecast of the end-times Storm.

And this is why I believe we can answer with a resounding “YES!” the question: “Are we there yet?”

               –Terry

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The Prophetic Significance of the Failure to Approve the Pandemic Treaty

I expected to see a much different headline this week. With all the hype and buildup of the past couple of years, I anticipated reading that the member nations of the World Health Organization (WHO) had successfully approved the Pandemic Treaty at their formal meeting beginning on May 27, 2024.

Instead, this headline appeared on the AP (Associated Press) Website on May 24, “Efforts to draft a pandemic treaty falter as countries disagree on how to respond to next emergency.” The article addressed the lack of agreement on the matter with the following inconsistent message:

The draft treaty had attempted to address the gap that occurred between COVID-19 vaccines in rich and poorer countries, which WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said amounted to “a catastrophic moral failure.”

Addressing a sullen final day of negotiations, the WHO chief insisted, “This is not a failure.”

“We will try everything — believing that anything is possible — and make this happen because the world still needs a pandemic treaty,” he said. “Because many of the challenges that caused a serious impact during COVID-19 still exist.”

Of course, they will keep trying to implement this treaty as it opens the door for the global governance they earnestly covet.

What Is this Pandemic Treaty?

The push for the Pandemic Treaty began on March 30, 2021, when, according to the WHO website, 25 world leaders announced an “urgent call for an International Pandemic Treaty,” stating that such a treaty is needed to orchestrate a single globalized response to pandemics.

At the 2022 WHO gathering, the Biden administration submitted amendments to the proposed treaty that, according to investigative reporter Leo Hohhman, would “cede additional sovereignty, control and legal authority over to the World Health Organization.” In other words, in the event of a public health crisis, the director of the WHO would not only determine its existence but how each member nation should respond to it.

The approval of the treaty would effectively end national sovereignty as we know it, which, according to Journalist and author Bill Wilson, President Biden was all too eager to see happen. Wilson wrote the following on his Daily Jot website:

Trouble is, Joe Biden already has submitted the US to the WHO sovereignty via his Global Health Strategy, which states, “The United States, together with its international partners, will enhance the prevention, detection, preparation for and response to infectious disease threats, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate in origin, across sectors at home and abroad in order for our collective efforts to be more efficient, effective, sustainable, and equitable.” In his detailed Global Health Strategy, he is implementing the WHO treaty even without global agreement. The WHO treaty, although rejected for now, already is built into US policy.

Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the wicked bear rule, the people mourn.” This is an executive-level decision and does not have Congressional approval, but it’s what Biden is doing, and we are impacted.

What’s the Prophetic Significance?

Is there any prophetic significance to the failure to approve the treaty? Yes.

First, we know from 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 that the “man of lawlessness” cannot make his presence known on the world stage until the Lord removes His restraining force, which takes place through the presence of the Holy Spirit in true believers.

The failure of the nations to agree on the terms of the health treaty is just another indicator of the Lord’s current restraint on world events. Even though we see wickedness and lawlessness expanding exponentially around us, He’s currently restricting the full formation of the coming world order over which the antichrist will assume control.

Second, it points to the Rapture as the catalyst that the globalists will need to implement their plan for world domination. For now, they are trying to create the need for global dominance through the false agenda of the climate emergency and their attempts to ignite a third world war by provoking Russia through its support of Ukraine. They keep crossing the red lines that Putin, the Russian President, sets, making a global conflict all the more likely.

The Rapture and the destruction of the Day of the Lord, which will soon follow, will give those at the UN and World Economic Forum the impetus to move forward with their plans. In the midst of the chaos, the antichrist will emerge and unite the world under his initiatives to restore order to a shaken world. He is the rider on the white horse (Revelation 6:1-2) who will “conquer” the nations after we are safely with the Lord in glory.

The Significance of Suddenly

What I see happening in the world tells me that the world will soon experience the fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 5:3:

“While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.’”

When the full force of what the Bible says will happen in the last days rocks the earth, it will happen suddenly. The stage is set for the coming world order, but the Rapture and God’s judgments that follow it will lead to its full implementation.

The day we meet Jesus in the air will begin just as any other ordinary day for us. It might already be nighttime, or the sun might be shining bright when we will meet Jesus in the air and suddenly find ourselves in glory in the presence of our wonderful Savior (1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:3; Colossians 3:4).

Someday, hopefully soon, everything will suddenly change for us as well as for those seeking to enslave the world through their murderous agenda. We will be in Heaven worshipping our Savior and celebrating with Him. The globalists will have the chaos they crave to fully realize their murderous control over all the nations.

-Jonathan

 

About Enduring Unto the End

I’ve been thinking yet again on my heartbeat flat-lining on Good Friday April 22, 2011, and going somewhere on the periphery of Heaven.

Again, reflecting on the many hospital pages that documented my heart stopping (I clinically died three times and was brought back with the defibrillation paddles) was a reminder, in large part, about two things. One, it affirmed that the pre-Trib Rapture is the true biblical view and Jesus is on the very cusp of calling His people–the Church—into Glory. Two, it emphasized how important it is for all believers in Christ to finish the race set before us.

What I saw was just what we read in Hebrews chapter 12: the cloud of witnesses was accompanying me as we ran toward the very throne of God. It was a victory lap, and we were headed toward Heaven’s finish line! (That’s the title of a book I hope to write soon.)

Obviously, I haven’t finished that race because here I sit telling you about my experience yet again. I know in the deepest reaches of my soul that what I saw on that day in 2011 was meant to encourage me to “keep on keeping on” in the assignment I’ve been given. We believers must all “endure unto the end.”

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all,” said Vince Lombardi, the famous Green Bay Packer coach of the 1960s known for his draconian training regimen in preparing his players. He put his observation into practice against his opponents by making sure it was the opponents, not his team members, who became fatigued. Each Packer player was totally spent at the end of each practice session, having left all he had on the field.

When strength was returned and fully pumped up on game day, there was more than enough to overpower those not as intensively conditioned. The result was a championship team that continues to be memorialized in sports lore all these years later. No team could match Lombardi’s when the exhaustion set in during the later stages of the games they played during the height of their power. There were teams that could match their natural athletic abilities, but none could match their endurance.

The game was won by the intense time of preparation as much as it was won on the actual field of play.

This sports analogy isn’t far-fetched. Paul, the great champion for taking the Gospel of Christ forth, used just such a comparison to describe his life, death, and glorious future in God’s kingdom:

“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy. 4:4–8).

Paul was obviously a sports fan. In his writings, he used imagery like running a race, beating the air, finishing the course, and others that indicate he at least took interest in the society of his day. That culture was filled with sports activities that were a natural subject matter for the great teacher to interject as he presented the Gospel and biblical matters.

The games of the day included Olympic-type events, with the races in particular turning on the fans’ cheers. Judges placed crowns of laurels (formed from leaves) upon the victors’ heads.

Paul linked the races of his time to the bema judgment (the judgment seat of Christ), where children of God will receive crowns of victory based upon how they ran the race for Christ’s cause during their lifetimes. The very nature of such a race indicates the necessity of enduring–persevering—through the long, sometimes uphill miles of living righteously.

Most often, Paul used such analogies to indicate, as in the verses above, the fact that Christians should be willing to endure. In many places, the apostle taught us how to build our spiritual stamina. That preparation most often was wrapped around prayer, Scripture study, and practical action–witnessing and teaching truth to others.

God’s Word telling us to endure is one topic that has caused anxiety-ridden questions among some. It seems to some that the command to “endure,” according to the language used, is a requirement for achieving salvation. One must “endure unto the end” to be saved—to win in the game of life, thus secure one’s place in Heaven for eternity.

Endurance is one thing God requires of His children. As a matter of fact, He demands it. But, what does the term “endurance” used in the Scriptures, causing anxieties among some believers, mean, exactly?

A close examination of the key verses involved is necessary to understand the term in God’s prophetic lexicon. One such reference is found in Paul’s words about a departure from Bible doctrine at the end of the Church Age:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (2 Timothy 4:3–5).

Paul was prophesying a time–indeed, I am convinced we are in that time—when many within the very heart of the Christian Church will move away from preaching and teaching that people are lost and need the Savior, Jesus Christ, alone (John 14:6). This failure to endure the sound doctrine taught by Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles would, Paul indicated, be a fatigue that would make cowards of many, causing them and those they teach to turn to lies.

We see today this very thing. The Gospel message that declares humankind is lost in sin, thus must turn to the shed blood of Jesus Christ for remission of that deadly sin, has been changed to give the feel-good message that God is love and would never condemn those He knows to be less than perfect. The fable makers teach the do-good message that we must go along with the world of philanthropists who preach a social gospel to feed, clothe, and, in general, show the have-nots that humanism is their savior.

Much of the Church today, thus, has failed to “endure until the end.”

Jesus pronounced, in strong language, the role “endurance” will play in the days leading up to His second advent:

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:11–13).

Jesus even asks in one instance whether He will find any faith on earth when He returns. And this is where the anxiety comes in for some. Is Jesus saying that those who do not hold to absolute Bible truth until the very end won’t be “saved”? Must we—and those of the Tribulation era—never slip up and sin, departing from truth, or else suffer the eternal damnation of Hell fire?

The answer is found within the character of the One who issued the solemn statement. Jesus, who said, “It is finished,” when He completed the redemption plan of God on the cross at Calvary, also said:

“My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).

Saints “endure” through Christ. We don’t have the ability to resist this fallen world apart from the strength found only in our Savior. The supernatural endurance required to “endure unto the end” is not in us but in Jesus, who paid the full price for our eternal souls:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

When we are “in” Christ, we will “endure” because Christ “endures.” He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Now, this doesn’t excuse the Christian from remaining faithful to God. In that sense, “endurance” is our responsibility. It is our responsibility to the very end of our lives or until the Rapture of Christ’s Body, the Church. We are to strengthen ourselves for spiritual battle in order to not become fatigued through prayer, Bible study, and telling others about Christ. We put on the whole armor of God as we are directed to do in Ephesians 6.

God equips us. He doesn’t demand such a hard thing without providing the ability–even the absolute guarantee—of that sort of “endurance” that takes His child “unto the end.”

Those who fail to exercise their witness in whatever way God directs become flabby, ineffective ambassadors in Christ’s royal service. There is always a heavy price to pay for such sloth—not through the loss of salvation for those who are truly in Christ’s grip, but through a loss of position within the kingdom of God.

Those who fail to endure in the center of God’s will suffer loss of rewards when they kneel before their Savior at the judgment seat of Christ.

That is one primary reason we at Rapture Ready exhort Christians to join in our efforts in these closing days of the Age of Grace–the Church Age. There are many, many opportunities to labor, to “endure,” during the trying times presented by this dynamic website effort to reach the lost world for Christ.

Many are writing articles, many are writing encouraging emails, and some are giving in other ways to God’s work on raptureready.com.

One area we very much need help with is finances. Donations have dwindled, yet the ministry-associated needs of Christ have never been more pronounced. Enduring to the end also means supporting Christ-centered ministries with our monetary offerings. If hundreds of millions of dollars can be contributed to myriad worldly causes, many of which actively support anti-God activities, why don’t those who hold to Bible truth support faithful ministries with greatly abundant offerings?

Jesus said: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Let us run the race until we reach Heaven’s finish line. You and I will then hear the Lord who died for us say:

“Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:23).

— Terry

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An Unheeded Warning

On Sunday, May 19, the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other top government officials crashed and burned. All on board perished.

The Iranian president was a key factor in the October 7, 2023, Hamas’ barbaric slaughter of Israelis as well as those from other nations, including the U.S. According to many sources, such as a recent article on Harbinger’s Daily, he planned and funded the gruesome attack that resulted in the murder of over 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 250 hostages, many of whom their captors later tortured and killed.

Was the May 19^th helicopter crash the Lord’s response to the man responsible for so much bloodshed and great suffering in Israel? I’m certain that what appeared to most as an accident was, in reality, God’s response as well as a warning of what lies ahead for those who now seek to divide and destroy Israel and its people (see Joel 3:1-3).

The words of Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 reveal that because God’s “sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.” In the end, the best result is for those who trust God or, as Solomon put it, “I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.”

We know that all those involved in the October 7, 2023, attack will face the severity of God’s wrath after they die, if not also beforehand. Regardless of their fate in this life, the Lord’s judgment for their vile acts will be an eternal fate worse than we can imagine.

The wicked misinterpret God’s patience and continue in their wicked ways. Raisi, thinking he was above reproach for his monstrous actions, continued to breathe out threats to destroy Israel, never imagining that the Lord would so soon hold him accountable for his great wickedness.

At times, the Lord punishes sin as a warning for all to see and take heed. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was just such a time when He displayed His displeasure with all those who would defile His purposes for a man, woman, and marriage. Though recorded for all to read in Genesis 19, most today ignore the warning with some mistakenly thinking that God approves of such behavior.

The Warning: Don’t Mess with Israel

Last December, Hasan Bitmez, age 54, suffered a heart attack on the floor of the Turkish parliament immediately after declaring that Israel “will suffer the wrath of Allah.” The New York Post reported his death two days later. Perhaps Raisi regarded this heart attack as just a coincidence, but not anymore.

On his Facebook page, former policeman and prophecy analyst Marty (MW) Breeden stated that Bitmez and Raisi were two “of the most vile and vicious leaders AGAINST Israel and the Jews…. They BOTH called for the annihilation of the Jewish State and the people, and God dealt with them accordingly!”

I agree with Marty; these deaths constitute this warning for all those who would dare to mess with Israel: Don’t do it. The Lord doesn’t always respond so decisively or quickly to evil. However, when He does, it’s dramatic and unmistakable for those paying attention.

Breeden also wrote, “One would THINK this should strike great fear in those who oppose Israel… but these are hard-hearted evil men, and it will likely not.”

Will Anyone Heed God’s Warning?

The world’s response to the death of the Iranian president tells us God’s warning here will go unheeded by the world’s leaders. Members of the UN, including the Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the UN, stood for a moment of silence to honor Raisi. In response, someone quipped, “What’s next, a moment of silence for Hitler?” President Biden showed his respect for Raisi with a message of condolences to Iran on the death of its leader.

How dare this administration honor a man who not only has much American blood on his hands but is responsible for the senseless slaughter of many of his own countrymen, as well as the barbaric and brutal atrocities of October 7, 2023? The key motto of his administration was “Death to America.” Why is the U.S. paying tribute to one who sought our annihilation as well as that of Israel?

Sadly, far too many Christians and church leaders will also regard the deaths of Raisi and Bitmez as having nothing to do with Bible prophecy or God’s promises to Israel. Blind to the many other signs of the last days, they will continue to teach that He has rejected Israel and replaced the nation with the church.

The Bible tells us a much different story. Although there’s much suffering ahead for the Jewish people during the latter half of the upcoming Tribulation, the Lord will most assuredly restore a glorious kingdom to Israel. In the end, God will fight for His people. The deaths of these two men are just warning shots across the bow for all those who continue to oppose Israel and seek to harm the Jewish people. In the end, they will pay a great price, just as will the coming antichrist.

The words of Psalm 92:6-9 speak to the fate of those who oppose the Lord, which, of course, includes His people:

“The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
but you, O Lord, are on high forever.
For behold, your enemies, O Lord,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.”

God’s Word is sure, and though He most often shows restraint, He acts often enough to warn the wicked of their fate.

We expect those apart from Christ to miss God’s warnings and the signs of the imminent Day of the Lord, but what about those who foolishly teach that the church has replaced Israel? Will they pause for a moment to consider the Lord’s defense of His people, or will it go unheeded with them as well?

-Jonathan