God's got a serious heart condition (which is holding things up)

The Word for today:
Revelation 21:9-21

We have reached the last two chapters of the Bible, where the "end times" give way to eternity.

This transition generates a lot of curiosity and many questions. Over the next few days, we will attempt to deal with these FAQs. Some of the questions will look back in review; some will look forward, to "all things new."  (Revelation 21:5)

Q. Explain the overall "Day of the Lord." What is the sequence of events?
The relative timing of the events of "the Day of the Lord" are endlessly debated. Here's how this teacher sees things unfolding:

"The Day of the Lord" is an extended period of time which includes the following events:

• "That day" begins at the moment of the "Rapture" (the removal of the true church).
• The Great Tribulation begins immediately after the Rapture.
• The Great Tribulation ends with the Second Coming of Christ to the earth.
• The Second Coming ushers in the Millennium (the 1000-year reign of Christ).
• At the end of the Millennium, unbelievers are judged at the Great White Throne.
• Thereafter, the new heavens and new earth come into view as the Millennium gives way to the eternal Kingdom of God.

Q. Does the Bible give any indication of when Christ will return?
No.

Q. Really? But I thought…
What part of 'no' don't you understand?

The Bible explicitly states that no one can know the exact time of Jesus' return (Matt. 12:36). But several passages describe the kind of time it will be. Thus, while the Second Coming will come upon the unbelieving world like a thief in the night (2 Pet. 3:10), believers who are closely attuned to scripture will not be completely startled by Jesus' return (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6).

Q. How will he return? Will he be some kind of a spirit?
No way! The return of the Lord Jesus Christ will take place personally, powerfully, bodily, visibly, publicly, and instantly:
For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. (Luke 17:24)

He will come as a conquering warrior. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who will obliterate the sin of the world.

Q. What's taking him so long?
I'm glad you asked. It seems that God has a heart condition, called 'love,' which is holding things up. He wants to give as much time as possible for every sinner to find Jesus, the only Way out of here:

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (2 Peter 3:8-10)

("Just the FAQs" about end times and eternity will be continued tomorrow.)

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all things new

(written by Pastor Joe)

The Word for Today: Revelation 21:1-8

We live in a world of sequence, where the new is constantly replacing the old.
Sometimes that's good:
Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, Game Cube, Wii, X-Box

Sometimes that's bad:
Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship

Sometimes it's neutral:
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Sequence is what we know, it's what we live, it's how this world operates. The old replaces the new and then the new becomes old and is itself replaced. But it is of the utmost importance that we do not come to today's passage with that kind of mindset. Because in these eight brief verses, we have all sorts of new things appearing: a New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Jerusalem. Here is history's grand finale, at least as we know it. Everything is new, but it's new in a brand new way, in a way that we don't fully comprehend.

This kinds of newness is hard to illustrate, so to rescue me, I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine, Mr. Willy Wonka. (Take your pick between Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp.)
I am particularly fond of his candy called Gobstoppers: a sugary, color changing candy about the size of a marble. I have all the sequences down- purple turns to red turns to green and then you're to the core and its gone. Time for a new one.

Nearly everything that we acknowledge as new falls into this category. Think how quickly all our technology dates itself. Our phones or computers or video equipment all have this nasty habit of becoming obsolete. Our new clothes wind up at Salvation Army. New newspapers end up lining the cages of our birds. The goods and times and relationships in life are used up, discarded, and replaced. Next Gobstopper please!

But in the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we are also introduced to the holy grail of all candy, the pinnacle of confectionery delight: the Everlasting Gobstopper. This mythical treat lasts forever, and is particularly valuable for "children with very little pocket money." In all our experience, our world has nothing like this Everlasting Gobstopper. All our attempts to manufacture such an item are doomed to fail.

But beyond our world, beyond this fallen planet, there is actually something really new, not under the sun, but under the Son. He promises us "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade (1)." He says to us "Behold, I make all things new (2)" by what He accomplished on the cross. Only Jesus Christ can rescue us from the monotony of the ‘latest’ and bring us into the fullness of the 'new,' because this real newness is found in Him and nowhere else.

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(1) 1 Peter 1:4
(2) Revelation 21:5

truer than your doubts

The Word for today:
Revelation 20:11-15

mark this: Revelation 20:11
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away.

Sin is real. It is not just a concept. It is a force, a perverse power with real consequences. It brings an end to innocence; it steals the twinkle from the stars.

And its effects are ongoing. It doesn't just evaporate into thin air. It can turn into a tear, a regret, a broken heart, a broken home. But it won't stop there.

Sin started beneath a tree in a garden. It was conceived by a man and a woman whom Satan seduced by playing their own self-centeredness against them.

Once it was set in motion, sin made itself king, ruling over individual hearts and collective history. No one could stop it. No one, that is, until God stepped in. He designed two structures and decreed that all sin would be stopped at either one place or the other…

First, he built a cross and hung from it. Many, trusting him, brought all their sin there, where it was swallowed up by his sacrifice.

But many others bypassed God's cross. They did not trust him, or they did not understand, or they did not care, or they thought they'd found another way. They were blinded by the darkness they'd created.

And so God will erect the other structure, a Great White Throne. No sin that detoured around his cross will get by this throne. No, not one.

No one will be acquitted at the Great White Throne. All those who appear there will be consigned to a hell of their choosing, for sin will not be allowed in heaven.

***

If you've trusted Jesus, you will never see God's Great White Throne of judgment. You can read about it in his book, but that's as close as you'll ever come. There's no reason for you to be there, because Jesus was already judged for your sin.

But if you haven't trusted Jesus, then there's a Great White Throne in your future. Unless, of course, you can perform a miracle…

And you can. You have it within you to change a Lion into a Lamb, a Judge into a Savior. You have it within you to change a Great White Throne into a cross…

Here's how:
Just cross your heart and make up your mind to place all your imperfections and even all your doubts in a great big sack. Then go to him via a prayer. Tell him you've decided that he's better than your sins and truer than your doubts. Ask him for the forgiveness he purchased with his life. It will not be withheld.

***

And all this while, you thought you'd never see a miracle. You thought that miracles, if they exist, were only for the other guy.

But you've come to find out that there is--there truly is--wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb.

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All aboard the Bible Bus!

The Word for today:
Revelation 20:1-10

Since our ten verses today last for 1000 years--the Millennium--we thought that we'd have time for this short "commercial" break. So, using myself as an example, I'm going to try to "sell" you something...

They used to have a TV advertisement for men's hairpieces--or do we call them wigs? Whatever they are, there was this man with a full head of hair telling us how great a certain company's wigs are.

Pretty soon we find out that he's the owner of the wig company. Then, at the very end of the commercial, there's the same guy, but without any hair! Finally, as he puts his wig back on, he closes with this line:

"I not only own the company, but I'm also a client!"

It was a very effective advertisement. It sold a lot of wigs.

Well, I don't own a warehouse full of wigs, but I have stored up a fair amount of knowledge about the Bible. (If you've read any of the 1000+ "Stand in the Rain" Bible articles, you'll at least grant me that.) But you must understand that these articles represent me with my wig on, so to speak. Not too long ago, however, I was "bald!"

Because up until about 10 years ago, I knew less about scripture than any person I can think of. Then I ran into J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee is simply the greatest Bible teacher who has ever lived. I first heard him when I was fiddling with my car radio in the year 2000 (which has a nice Millennial ring to it!)

At the end of the segment an announcer said that the program, called "Thru the Bible," could also be heard on the internet. So I pulled over and wrote down the address--ttb.org.

The very next day I typed ttb.org into my browser, and I have been there ever since. 1,300 lessons later, in 2005, I finished the Thru the Bible course. The Bible Bus (as we insiders call it) had come all the way back to where I'd started five years earlier.

Then it just kept rumbling on. Pretty soon I began to miss it, so I climbed back on that bus. And now I'm hoping that you'll get on "the bus" with us!

So if you want to learn way more about the Bible than I will ever be able to teach you in a thousand years, just click on this link--ttb.org--and climb aboard the Bible bus! You do that, and five years from now you will be way smarter about scripture than anybody (except for Jesus and Doc McGee!)

Sort of like the old wig advertisement said, "I'm not only a Bible teacher, but I'm also a student!" And so I welcome you to the mobile "classroom" of the late, great J. Vernon McGee. I'll slide over so you can sit right here--right behind the driver--with me.

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the revelation of the Revelation of the revelation of Jesus Christ

The Word for today:
Revelation 19:11-21

mark this: Revelation 19:11-12
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

The purpose of the Bible, all 66 of its books, is the revelation of Jesus Christ:
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)

Within the Bible's 66 books there is one book, the last, which is even called "the Revelation of Jesus Christ."

Within that last book is a chapter (chapter 19) which describes the Second Coming--the moment at which Jesus is physically, visibly revealed to the entire world, to the believer and non-believer alike.

Thus you could say that we have arrived at the revelation of the Revelation of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

There has been so much information and misinformation concerning the Second Coming that we've decided to print the facts we know from the Bible. We hope this little "outline" will help you to distinguish between what is scriptural and what is merely speculation and guesstimation.

***

The phrase "Second Coming" does not appear in scripture. Scripture refers to the "return" of Jesus. (Same difference, but we don't want you tearing your hair out searching your concordance for "Second Coming.")

The return of the Lord Jesus Christ will take place personally, powerfully, bodily, visibly, publicly, and instantly:
For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. (Luke 17:24; also see Matthew 24:30-31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:3.)

This will be no local happening; you will not have to 'Look there!' or 'Look here!' (Luke 17:23)

On that day, the world will not be seeing the carpenter from Nazareth. It will be Jesus in his incandescent brilliance as the 'Son of Man,' as foreseen by Daniel (7:13-14) and by Peter, James, and John (Luke 9:28-36) when Jesus appeared in glory, as if clothed in light. (This appearance, known as the "Transfiguration," provides the best preview of Jesus' triumphant return.)

The martyred Stephen, as he was about to die, had a similar glimpse:
"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56)

The Apostle John, writing Revelation from the Island of Patmos to which he had been exiled, saw the same figure:
…his face was like the sun shining in full strength (Revelation 1:16; Revelation 1:7 tells us that the whole world will witness this same spectacle.)

The return of Christ will mark the end of history as we know it. It will inaugurate the final Judgment and usher in the new heaven and the new earth. Pain, death, and sorrow will all be banished. The entire structure of evil will be dismantled.

This new realm will surpass our current understanding and imagination. Our attempts to express what we shall experience fall so short that we demean heaven whenever we attempt to convey it. We will need--and receive--new eyes to enable us to see what we shall see. Our current portals of perception--eyes, ears, nose, and tactile receptors--would be unable to take it all in.

We have been warned all along not to place a date or time upon the Second Coming of Christ (Matthew 24:42-44). But many people waste their time in endless speculation and calculations.

The way we should be spending our days is to watch, and to work; to witness, and to Repent!--for the return of the once and future King is at hand.

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the serpent will swallow his tail

The Word for today:
Revelation 18:21-19:10

Jesus, prophetically, said that a kingdom divided against itself will not stand:
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. (Mark 3:24-26)

We are going to see the kingdom of Babylon begin to dissolve due to that very principle.

"Babylon," as we have seen, is a kind of all-purpose code word for the world system which is ruled by Satan. This is the kingdom that Satan had offered to Jesus:
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:5-7)

In chapter 17, we saw religious "Babylon," the prostituted church which Satan (working through Antichrist) will manipulate for for his purposes. This is the religious arm of the beast.

In chapter 18, we see a political/commercial “Babylon,” which is the other arm of the beast.

And then, as if the beast were arm-wrestling himself, we see political Babylon turn against religious Babylon.

These two Babylons had been one. In the blunt and graphic language of Revelation, we are told that the kings (the political world system) had fornicated with the harlot (the world religious system). They'd used one another:
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality..." (Revelation 17:1-2)

But after using the false religious system to unify the world and gain complete control of all, the Antichrist will turn against the harlot, plunder and destroy her, and seize all power and worship for himself. As he does, he will be carrying out God's will:
The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. (Revelation 17:16-17)

***

We have seen evil at war with itself before:

**In 2 Chronicles, three nations were in league against Israel until they turned on each other:
As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. (2 Chronicles 20:22-24)

**In the court of Pharaoh, a snake devoured the other snakes. (Exodus 7:11-12)

**Ultimately, at the cross, Jesus became sin in order to defeat sin:
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

***

When God has no alternative but to fight fire with fire, he will pit hell against hell, until heaven wins.

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gone

(written by Pastor Joe)

The Word for Today: Revelation 18:1-20

mark this: 18:17
"For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste."

In our passage today, we read about an unmitigated disaster- one that makes the Great Depression, Hiroshima and 9/11 look like small potatoes. We witness the titanic collapse of Babylon. The biggest and greatest and only hope that the godless world has, is destroyed. The source of the world's power, wealth, luxury, and splendor is wrecked in spectacular fashion. History has witnessed much destruction, but the scale we see in this passage is unprecedented.
It's hard to wrap our minds around it. "When the foundations are being destroyed,what can the righteous do?" (1)

What do you take for granted?
We are told that the only guarantees in life are death and taxes, but in our everyday reality, I think we assume much more than that, especially in America. Today, we expect financial security, we expect personal safety, we expect family stability, we expect physical health. When any of the above don't quite measure up, we then take appropriate measures to return us back to normal. The problem is, we no longer live under the assumption that we can greatly influence these four categories (which we can). We now live under the illusion that we can control each of these categories (which is impossible).

Have you ever considered the hard truth of just how close any one of us is to disaster in any of the above areas? One market crash, one lost job, one terrorist, one nuclear strike, one terrible choice, one doctor visit, one phone call, one moment away from our own world forever turning upside down. It's rather disconcerting and so most of us prefer not to think on such matters.

But the truth is, that even if we are not around to face the events found in the book of Revelation, each one of us will have to face our own personal apocalypse, our own personal judgment day. It's for good reason that Word of God compares our brief time on planet earth with a fading flower, withering grass, a passing mist. (2)

When everything is going well, we all can lose sight of eternity and priorities very quickly. When everything is going well, it's easy to assume that we are trusting in Jesus Christ. It's only when everything falls apart that we can see what we really believe. All the wealth and hopes and dreams of Babylon were gone within a single hour. It can take much less time for any single one of us.

May we all take the advice of the angel in this passage and "come out of her." May we remove our hopes and security from this sinking ship, before it's too late.

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(1) Psalm 11:3
(2) see Isaiah 40:7 and James 4:14