By Tim Cameron
TC sat pondering at his desk in the quiet of his bedroom, having just finished spending time alone with God. Pen and paper in hand, he began writing…
Dear family and friends,
I am writing this letter because I love you and feel the need to share this critical message. Almost all of you know that I’ve had my share of shortcomings and many of you have been there to experience a lot of my personal ups and downs. So you have to know that this is not coming to you from any other angle other than straight from my heart. Life has been very different for me since I became a Christian.
First of all, I hope all of you know that I love Jesus Christ. He means everything to me. But in saying that, let me say I truly believe the only reason why the apostle Paul said he was the “chief of all sinners” was because TC hadn’t been born yet. Some of you would be very fair to say, “TC is a hypocrite!” and with that I totally understand. Again, I have fallen short many, many times and feel so unworthy to write this letter. But at the same time, I feel very compelled to reach out.
As many of you already know, I believe that these are the end-times we are living in. (If you’ve never heard me say that before it’s only because of my timidity, and hence this letter.) Many would scoff and say, “Where is the promise of His coming? It’s been said for 2000 years.” But in the Bible, Peter warned that those words and beliefs would be a sign that the Lord’s coming is very near. Peter said, “In the last days, scoffers would arise,” saying the very same thing.
You might also say, “No man knows the day or the hour,” but Jesus also said this: “How is it you can look to the sky and know a storm is coming but yet you can’t discern the signs of the times?”
True, no man knows the exact hour Jesus will call his church home, but Jesus Himself said we would or should know the season.
What are the signs to look for?
I’m all about keeping this real, keeping it simple. Number one: Jesus told us that when the fig tree (Israel) blossomed in the desert, THAT generation would not pass away. Before 1948 there was a time Israel ceased to exist as a nation. Up until that time I can understand how there were those who believed that the church had “replaced” Israel. But once the rebirth of modern Israel took place in 1948, I have to believe that anyone who had a Bible and studied it would have considered that a monumental wake-up call!
Jesus said Israel’s rebirth would happen and that it would be a major signal that the end of the age (Church Age) was at hand and that “the time of the gentiles” was being fulfilled. The prophet Daniel said (of this same time in history), that things would change in a major way in relation to how people traveled and there would be a dramatic increase in knowledge.
For thousands of years travel was with horses, donkeys and camels but then, boom—in the same century of Israel’s rebirth we see the crazy changes in travel. You can literally ship packages around the world in three days and can talk instantly globally through text, tweet or chat. Has knowledge increased? Satellite TV’s in SUVS with GPS talking to you while you listen to a song just downloaded seconds ago via iTunes from the UK…need I say more?
Okay, just a couple of other things that the Bible says to look for: A global depression, growing escalation of hatred toward Israel; trying to divide her land, wars and rumors of wars (war on terrorism, North Korea-South Korea, India-Pakistan, Israel-Hamas, Iran threatening to blow Israel off the map), days of rage, people running everywhere (to and fro), love waxing cold, earthquakes in diverse places, greed on a major scale, a world gone mad, and days like Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Bible says that at some point the whole world will cry out for a man to step on the scene and save them, a man who will later prove to be the prophesied Antichrist—a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This plea for help will start with two major issues: The economy and Israel. Right now, you all can testify that everyone is looking for answers, not just here in America but worldwide. People are saying to themselves, “Someone please bring relief.” I am sure you all have watched over the last few years the mounting violence in around the world. When has there ever been such a global cry for peace?
So what is the reason for my letter? Jesus said a time would come when He would shout, “Come up here!” And millions of His people would be caught up to meet Him in the air and taken to heaven. Can you imagine that? He said all those who are born-again believers will be changed from mortal to immortal bodies in the blink of an eye or in the “twinkling of an eye.” THAT FAST.
Please stop and think about that for a minute – the panic, the heartbreak – is unimaginable and indescribable, but please try and imagine. Not long after the moment Christ removes His church, a seven-year countdown will begin. Anyone still here on earth will be left to face a time called Jacob’s Trouble or the Tribulation period. It will be a time that could easily be called the Perfect Storm. All of Satan’s fury and God’s wrath will be unleashed upon those still here.
Those who survive will have been divided into two camps—those who have pledged allegiance to Jesus Christ (after the Rapture), and those who have aligned themselves with mankind and Satan himself. If you align yourself with Jesus, you will suffer martyrdom for your decision. If you choose mankind, you will suffer eternal damnation. Either way, you will die for your decision.
You might be thinking I’m being overly dramatic. I can’t even begin to be dramatic enough to warn you of what is soon to come. I wish I could.
Think back to Hurricane Katrina. Suppose I was the weatherman and I knew it was coming and the eye was for sure to hit the town you live in. But rather than offending you, or for the sake of being politically correct, I chose to keep the “warning” to myself, and because I did, you were blindsided by the storm and lost your life. What kind of person or weatherman would I be?
According to my faith, there is coming a storm upon this earth that will leave no person untouched by catastrophe. Your ONLY hope to escape is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, by being born-again by the Spirit of God. If you will believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ has died and rose from the grave, you will be saved!
Please, if you are reading this letter, do just that—believe in Jesus and confess him!
Jesus said this: “If you will confess me before men, I will confess you to my Father. But if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father.”
In closing, please let me restate that I am no better than anyone. Not at all! But I CARE ABOUT YOU. Please hear this letter for what it is. I don’t want you to be caught in the most horrific storm this world has ever seen. A seven-year storm is coming, as sure as death and taxes. Please, REPENT if you haven’t already. Make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life. I am begging you! His wrath will soon be poured out.
Let me just say this again, I love you all. If this hurts or offends you, I’m sorry. I’d rather hurt and offend you and have you HEAR this message and make sure you KNOW it rather than to stay fearfully quiet. I wouldn’t want you to someday stand before God and have Him tell you that you didn’t make it because TC cared more about his own pride than he cared for you!”
TC closed his notepad and prayed, “Father, I have tried to do as I felt you leading me. I have written this letter of warning in your name. Please Lord, bless this letter and convict all my friends and family to hear its urgent message. For your glory and purpose in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
This is the ninth in my series of short stories, Preludes to the Rapture collection. Please feel free to download the stories as formatted and use them as witnessing material.
Tim Cameron