Blessed Assurance

True believers in Jesus Christ will never be depressed. We will never face circumstances that can cause a loss of trust in our position within God’s family, if we are truly saved.

The above statements are not validated by God’s Word. On the contrary, they’re propagated by the father of lies—the wicked one who stalks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour. And I must confess to myself—and to you—that I have sensed the tempter’s whisper into my own ear lately. It goes something like, “Look around you. In every direction, things are growing ever darker. Think on these things and believe these conditions will grow infinitely worse, as Heaven taking action just isn’t in sight.”

This is my thought, even though I write about all of the strangeness I observe that is transpiring at this time so near the end of the age. I then reason that our Lord wouldn’t charge me with the business of correlating issues and events with end-of-the-age prophecy if there wasn’t the best possible end to it all at some glorious point in the future.

One sentence from Scripture almost always emerges in my thinking to replace the depression begun by that whisper from the evil one: “Comfort one another with these words.”

The most prominent placement of this statement in God’s Holy Word is where the promise of the glorious end of these evil days for believers is presented. And what a presentation it is!

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

So, it was the other morning when I began my day with a number of thoughts about the depressing things going on in the world. Paul’s great prophetic utterance above, ending with the comforting exhortation, finally emerged near the surface of my aging gray matter. Then the thought struck that obliterated the depression the minion whispering earlier intended to inflict to ruin my day.

The words of “Blessed Assurance” burst into my memory–melody and all.

The Holy Spirit brought to mind that great old hymn I’ve heard all my life. You may have heard and sung it, too. And what a remembrance it was; what a comforting truth it delivered! Depression from all the oppression that dark region of Satan’s realm could fling had no chance of surviving that burst of “Blessed Assurance”!

Here are the lyrics to remind all of us of the magnificent future we believers in Christ have as inheritors of all of the heavenly riches that belong to Jesus Himself.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission, perfect delight
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Praising my Savior all the day long

We can’t avoid the pure evil assaulting our eyes and ears–our spiritual senses—such as yet another attempt on the same presidential candidate’s life while he played golf on Sunday, September 15, in Florida. Yet all the wickedness we observe fades in the brightness of the Lord Jesus’ promise to call us into His presence at any moment. We have blessed assurance that we will not face the concluding seven hell-on-earth years marked by Antichrist’s regime or face the wrath and judgment of the righteous God of Heaven. We will be in Jesus’ Father’s house–which is our house, too (John 14:1–3), because of what Jesus did on that old rugged cross at Calvary.

As that old hymn, “Blessed Assurance,” says, we who are in God’s family are heirs… heirs of salvation and all of Heaven’s glory.

So, as we’re thinking about what Jesus has done for us, we can cast aside the depression–the oppression—Satan desires to inflict. All of this brings to mind another hymn with lines that express how Christ’s work on that cross and His Resurrection give us blessed assurance. This hymn tells us what we should be doing to do the work assigned us while we’re on Earth:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

If you don’t have that blessed assurance because you’ve never accepted God’s grace gift offer of salvation through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, here is how to be part of God’s eternal family:

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

---

Kingdom Curiosity

Do you know that we are heirs to a kingdom with wonders far beyond what we can imagine? The Bible says that New Testament saints, that’s us, will someday inherit a kingdom (James 2:5; Ephesians 1:11-14). Paul tells us that in our current state, we can’t yet receive our inheritance. However, Jesus will make us fit to do so by giving us incorruptible and immortal bodies at His appearing (1 Corinthians 15:50-55).

Is this not the most wonderful news imaginable? As I look at the deteriorating conditions around me, I’m relieved in no small way to know that a much, much better day awaits. This current world is not our final destination! It’s not where Jesus is preparing a forever home for us.

The struggles and disappointments of life often drown our curiosity regarding our heritage. Even as watchers, we easily become consumed with the signs of the approaching Tribulation and forget about the wonders of what it will be like to reign with the Savior in His kingdom.

Even though Scripture doesn’t answer all the questions that come to our minds regarding this future realm, it reveals many details for those curious as to what our lives will be like during the Millennium.

The Apostle John tells us that Jesus’ reign over the nations will last one thousand years. However, in Revelation 20:1-10, we don’t see many details concerning this time, apart from the fact that an angel will put Satan in a pit for its duration. That alone tells us this coming time will be unlike anything we can picture in our minds.

The Old Testament prophets reveal much about the conditions of the millennial kingdom, such as the pristine conditions of nature, greatly increased lifespans, harmony in the animal world, the rule of a totally righteous King, and universal worship of Jesus. Despite all these wonderful things, those who enter this realm in their natural bodies will disobey, and at its end, their descendants will rebel against the Lord.

However, there’s another book that sparks immense joy within me as I read its many prophecies regarding the realm to which I am an heir.

Would it surprise you to learn that it’s the Psalms? It exalts Christ as the coming King and, as such, deepens our understanding of what the world will look like between the Tribulation and the eternal state. Of course, His reign will last forever, but the psalmists lift our hearts heavenward with depictions of His Second Coming and establishment of His rule before the eternal state.

Psalm 2 sets us on our journey with its description of a still future time when Jesus inherits the kingdoms of this world and rules over them with a “rod of iron.” As we leap forward to Revelation 19:11-16, we read how these words come to fruition at Christ’s return to the earth.

We find many references to kingdom conditions in Psalms, such as in 46-47. When the Lord assumes control of the world, He will put an end to all wars (46:10). Like the Old Testament prophets, in these Psalms, the sons of Korah assume a gloriously restored Israel as a key aspect of Jesus’ rule over all the nations.

The Psalms emphasize the fact that the entire earth will praise the Lord during this time. The psalmists repeatedly encourage the subjects of the Lord’s future rule to praise Him. The words of Psalm 47:6-7 are typical of how they encourage people to worship the reigning King:

Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!

We see the same invitations to praise the King all through Psalms 95-99. The verses below reflect their theme:

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he! (Psalm 99:1-3)

There is coming a time when praise for our Savior will fill the earth. From Daniel 7:27, we learn that when Jesus reigns, “all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Today, the nations rage against Him and His people. When He rules, they will bow down before Him in worship.

The millennial kingdom is not just simply what we read about and seek to defend against those who diminish its splendor by saying the church is it or will someday rule over it rather than the Lord. Please know that we will fully experience its wonders, benefits, and over-the-top joys as we carry out the various tasks that the Lord assigns us in this glorious realm.

The kingdom is only a part of the paradise that awaits all of us as New Testament saints. Our lives in this broken-down world don’t in any way resemble the glories of our final destination, which we will enjoy with immortal bodies. Paul David Tripp, in His book New Morning Mercies, wrote:

If you’re God’s child, the final chapter of your story will take place in an eternal paradise beyond your wildest dreams…. As you face the hardships of today, remember that grace has purchased you a ticket for the paradise that is to come.

Don’t let the sorrows of the present age deter you from looking ahead to the details of your inheritance recorded in Scripture. I’m confident the Lord will bless such kingdom curiosity.

-Jonathan

The Tribulation Incubator

Evidence that the Tribulation is about to be birthed has exploded from the hourly news feeds. That eruption has the diplomats, particularly of the Western world, searching desperately for the calculus that will bring the chance of nuclear conflict into a more controllable configuration.

It is a real curiosity that while those diplomats seek a ceasefire in the Middle East—a one-sided nuclear threat, supposedly—they almost treat as a minor concern things going on between Russia and Ukraine, from where all-out nuclear war is much more likely to be unleashed.

Israel, indeed, has a nuclear arsenal. But its blood-vowed enemies, although vicious and certainly militant to the max, haven’t such an arsenal with which to engage in nuclear exchange… at least not yet, that we know of. (Iran’s nearness to achieving weapons-grade nuclear material is a great concern.)

With Russian President Vladimir Putin stating on a number of occasions that Russia might be willing to use tactical nukes, and even stating that America is in their crosshairs with the big nukes if pushed by NATO in the Ukraine matter, it seems to me the diplomatic concerns should be to pursue a ceasefire and peace in that region. But instead, most all the diplomatic efforts—influenced to great degree by the military-industrial complex—seem concentrated on making Israel cave to a ceasefire arrangement with enemies whose whole purpose, in writing, is to eradicate the Jewish state “from the river to the sea.”

There is no doubt that most all attention in that regard is on things happening in and around Israel. The following are brief news links on our Rapture Ready News forum that point to the tremendous uptick in tensions in the land most frequently mentioned in Bible prophecy.

Here are very brief excerpts of several stories from Thursday, September 5.

Details Emerge: Israel’s Response to Iran in April Destroyed Russian-Made Defense System

A major scoop by the Jerusalem Post was published on Monday… According to an article published in the Jerusalem Post, “Israel’s April strike on Iran’s S-300 missile system deterred Iran and Hezbollah from launching large-scale attacks in August.”

Israel Poised to Establish Military Government in Gaza Amid Aid Distribution Crisis

There are no alternatives, and nobody wants to risk allowing Hamas to seize control of the aid. “There is no one else who can do the job; the current situation does not serve the Israeli interest; we must take upon ourselves the distribution of aid,” a senior Israeli security source told TPS-IL.

Starve Them Out: Israeli Generals Present “plan to defeat Hamas”

Two-phased “Generals’ Plan” calls for the forced evacuation of northern Gaza and a total siege on the terrorists who remain there. A forum of top Israeli army reserve commanders this morning published a “plan to defeat Hamas” that is certain to raise eyebrows. “The Generals’ Plan” is the right way at this time to defeat Hamas and free the hostages, and we should have implemented it months ago. Those who cannot implement it are failing in their duty.

Hezbollah Fires Over 100 Rockets at Upper Galilee, Destroying Houses and Causing Fires

The long-suffering residents of Israel’s northern regions, who have not yet been evacuated from their homes, experienced another day under Hezbollah fire, as the terror group fired over 100 rockets into the Upper Galilee on Wednesday.

Air Force Chief: IDF Poised to Combat Hezbollah, Nearing Victory over Hamas in Gaza

The head of Israel’s air force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, announced on Thursday… “We are in the midst of the longest war in our history since the War of Independence,” Bar stated. “We have been fighting for almost nine months without respite, tirelessly. Hamas in Gaza will be defeated soon.” The Israeli military is prepared to shift its focus to potential conflicts with Hezbollah in the north.

I could have included in this list many other similar story links posted on that one day. All pointed to the military turmoil building all around Bible prophecy’s nation most central to the end times. The cries for peace from the diplomatic world are intensively focused on the building conflict. Most pointedly, the cries are for Israel to cave in to demands from the international community to stop destruction to Israel’s hate-filled enemies in making peace in the region.

The region is indeed the incubator of the peace that will destroy many. That “false peace” will be the covenant made with “death and hell” (Isaiah 28:15, 18). It will be Satan’s ultimately evil document that will be confirmed (Daniel 9: 27) by the man of sin who will become the world’s most vicious dictator—the Antichrist.

We are witnessing at this moment that incubator in its process of gestating what will become the final seven years of hell on earth leading to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at Armageddon.

All of this Mideast turbulence means the Rapture must be very near. You want to be part of that glorious time when the Lord takes all of His children out of harm’s way (Revelation 3:10).

Here, once again, is how to go to Jesus when He calls:

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

---

The UN 2.0

What’s the most key event of the upcoming months? Here in America, most would point to the presidential election in early November. While that’s significant for a variety of reasons, I’m thinking of something that will someday, perhaps soon, overshadow who sits in the Oval Office at the White House.

Beginning on September 22, 2024, member nations of the UN will meet for what it labels as the “Summit of the Future.” The website for upcoming meetings lists these three outcomes for the gathering:

1. Pact for the Future
2. Global Digital Compact
3. Declaration on Future Generations

Within the “Pact for the Future,” the UN website states that nations will recommit themselves to the seventeen sustainable development goals, affirm their desire for “Peace and Security,” and reaffirm their desire for “Transforming Global Governance” (in other words, a one-world government).

What does this all mean? It’s a significant strengthening of the UN’s ability to dictate policies for individual nations, which, of course, increases its power over the lives of their citizens. Their “Pact for the Future” will take its authority far beyond the original intent of the organization. A direct quote from a PDF file linked to the UN’s website sums it up this way:

A strengthened UN human rights pillar that is better resourced and coordinated. A UN that uses innovation, data, digital tools, foresight, and (behavioural) science effectively (UN 2.0) and a sustainably financed UN development system. Deepened partnerships between the UN and other stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, regional organizations, national parliaments, and local and regional authorities.

And, oh yes, “a sustainably financed UN development system” will mean higher taxes for everyone.

Bible Prophecy on Display

Though it’s more than a little distressing to consider the implications of a more powerful UN committed to its Marxist 2030 Agenda, the Bible tells us that we should expect such things in the last days.

The books of Daniel and Revelation reveal that in the end times, a brutal one-world government will rise to power over which the “man of lawlessness” will eventually assume control (see also 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8).

How do we know that the UN 2.0 is, at a minimum, a prototype of the coming beast system that Scripture says will exert its power over the world for a brief time?

First, Israel is again a nation. Most, if not all, of the Bible’s prophecies concerning the end times depend on Israel becoming a nation again, along with the building of the third temple. Both the nation’s current prosperity and endless hostilities fit with how God’s Word describes the nation’s initial reemergence in the last days. A great many factors are even now preparing Israel for its upcoming pact with the antichrist, which he will break halfway through the Tribulation by desecrating the temple in Jerusalem.

Second, almost two thousand years ago, Paul wrote these words concerning the arrival of the Day of the Lord wrath, which includes the Tribulation period:

“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” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

It’s not a coincidence that we find the words “peace and security” prominently placed on the UN’s website. These words, however, are merely a mantra designed to disguise the deadly intent of those “saying” these words. They advocate safety for all while at the same time openly declaring their intentions to greatly reduce the earth’s population. (Why do so many people miss this?)

The UN’s “Global Digital Compact” points directly to the fulfillment of Revelation 13:16-18, which doesn’t happen until the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation. The antichrist’s ability to exercise total control over buying and selling throughout the world cannot happen apart from the digitizing of all monetary transactions and doing away with cash purchases. The world is already well along this path. Even if the Rapture happens today, the globalists have plenty of time to fully implement a single worldwide digital currency by the middle of the Tribulation.

The Normality Bias

The strengthening of the UN’s authority over the nations is just one of many factors that shout with the message that we live in the last days. In the past, I have written about the “normality bias” that flourishes in America. This causes most people to assume that nothing will interfere with their aspirations for the future because, somehow, things will return to “normal.” Unfortunately, this mindset also dominates the Christian community where the most popular view of the end times is that the church will rise victorious over the evils of our day, and life will get much better.

Yes, we may see pockets of a spiritual awakening before the Lord returns for us. However, the trajectory for the world’s future, as evidenced by the globalists dramatically increasing the powers of the UN, aligns with what Bible prophecy reveals about what we might expect just before the start of the Tribulation.

What we read about the UN 2.0 troubles us, and understandably so. It signifies a giant step toward the beast system that will someday dominate the world for a short while. It doesn’t matter what the majority of people in the world desire; the global elites will have their way in enslaving the world’s population under their rapidly approaching communist regime.

The good news is twofold. First, although we may experience additional oppression in the future, Jesus is coming for us before the full implementation of the beast’s rule over humanity. Our immediate hope consists of Christ’s appearing to take us up to His Father’s house (John 14:2-3). As I look at the world, I often tell myself that it cannot happen soon enough.

Second, during the seven-year Tribulation and His Second Coming, the Lord will destroy the realm of the antichrist along with all those who today seek to enslave the people of the world beneath a totalitarian regime. In the end, we will reign with Jesus in His righteous kingdom, where justice and peace will prevail.

Maranatha!

-Jonathan