A closer look at Christ’s Second Coming

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Introduction:
When we talk about the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must realize that there are (in succession) an INvisible and a visible Coming.
The INvisible Second Coming is the (hidden) coming for the Bride(church); this is the so-called "wise-virgin" part of the true believers.
The VISIBLE Second Coming is the coming on the clouds, when every eye shall see Him in His full glory as King and Lord, also the eyes of those that pierced (or rejected) Him.

The VISIBLE Second Coming
In my opinion the following Bible texts all relate to the VISIBLE Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And, from the context of the following Bible texts we can learn that the visible Second Coming will take place AFTER the Great Tribulation and BEFORE the beginning of Christ's Millennium of Peace.
The resurrection of all true believers who passed away (or died) in Christ in the course of the ages until the end of the Great Tribulation (see Revelation 20:4), will also take place AFTER the Great Tribulation, but BEFORE Christ's Millennium of Peace. Nowhere in the Bible do we read that there is a resurrection of the righteous BEFORE as well as AFTER the Great Tribulation.
Also one and the same event is meant by the trumpet mentioned in several texts below; viz. the trumpet of Revelation 11:15. Here again one reads that Christ's Kingdom (i.e. the Millennium of Peace) starts AFTER the sound of this trumpet (and the great voices in heaven – see also 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

1 Thessalonians 4 verse 15-17:
"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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 (the resurrected righteous [i.e. the believers]) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (namely 1,000 years with the returned Lord ON EARTH)

Matthew 24 verse 29-31:
"Immediately AFTER the tribulation (the Great Tribulation, see verse 21) of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man (thus this is the visible Second Coming) coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

1 Corinthians 15 verse 51-52:
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (NOT all ‘pass away’ or ‘sleep in the Lord’), but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible (AFTER the Great Tribulation), and we (that are left alive from [and thus AFTER] the Great Tribulation, because God saved them – see Revelation 12:6, 14) shall be changed."

Revelation 1 verse 7:
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."

Revelation 10 verse 7:
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound (with the seventh, and thus last, trump), the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”

Daniel 7 verse 13-14:
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom (thus His dominion starts with His [visible] Second Coming on the clouds when the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation wherein the Antichrist reigns is past!), that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

Revelation 11 verse 15:

"And the seventh angel sounded (with the seventh, and thus last, trump); and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."

Where and with whom shall He reign?

Revelation 5 verse 10:
"And (the Lamb) hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

Revelation 20 verse 4-6:
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God (i.e. the martyrs that died for the sake of Christ down through the ages), and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands (these can only be the true believers which have to suffer a martyr's death in the Great Tribulation, because BEFORE the Great Tribulation the matter of this beast [i.e. the Antichrist] that must be worshiped, and the mark of the beast, are not raised); and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the FIRST resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (on the earth)."

Thus 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 clearly refers to the VISIBLE Second Coming as the coming on the clouds is the VISIBLE Return. This we could clearly read in above Bible verses.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

Isaiah´s prophesy of God's offer of grace in the New Covenant, and of His forming of the Christian Church

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1. God's offer of grace in the New Covenant.

Isaiah 40:1-2 "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."
Isaiah prophesied here more than 700 years before the New Bloodcovenant began about God's giving of grace in New Testament time. This promise of God is only fulfilled after the death on the cross and the resurrection of the Lamb of God on Golgotha, where the unrighteousness, caused by the sins of man, is reconciled, and satan[1] is defeated and conquered by the death and resurrection of the Lamb of God.
Pardoned man then is doubly pardoned by YaHWeH after his repentance unto God: His sins are forgiven, and he is delivered from them; He receives from God's hand the new Christ-life, the divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4 "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
This prophecy then shows the way to how this divine gift of mercy is given to the sinner.
Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
This divine voice tells us that we are to prepare the way to and in our heart for YaHWeH, that we are to open the wilderness of sin in our heart unto Him, and make a straight path, a road, to the wilderness of our thinking and heart. Then He shall come in unto us in forgiveness of our sins, washing us in His blood.
Psalm 24:7-10 says the same:
"Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah."
We must open unto Him the eternal gates of our body (our ears), of our soul (our will), and of our spirit (the love for God). Then He shall bring His victory over satan and sin into our thinking, heart and life (verse 8), and He shall let us partake in the Body of Christ, in so doing making us part of His divine army, of which He is the divine General; an army that will fight and win the victory over satan, and that will take from him his spoils, the sinners who are in his power.
We also read this in Luke 11:21-22:
"When a strong man armed (satan) keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he (God's anointed servant in the power of God's Holy Spirit) shall come upon him (satan), and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor (destroys all his power) wherein he (satan) trusted, and divideth his spoils (takes the redeemed souls into God's kingdom)."
Let us return to Isaiah 40:4-5:
"Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
We see here Jesus Christ's work of mercy in the thinking, heart and life of redeemed, repentant man. Verse 4 tells of His work of salvation. All that sin worked in our thinking, heart and life, will be removed by Him: the valleys and mountains of committed unrighteousness, even all that is crooked and rough (the small sins). In the place thereof He shall make a valley, a paradise.
In Isaiah 40:5 we read that He shall clothe us, inwardly and outwardly, with His own glory, the glory of YaHWeH, and all people shall see this glory in the nature and the life of the Bride of the Lamb of God.
Isaiah 60:1-3 "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."
Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."
Revelation 21:11 "(The Bride of the Lamb) Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone (a diamond), clear as crystal."
We see here that this prophecy of Isaiah's will only be fully fulfilled in the end-time.
Isaiah 40:6-8 "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
Here God's prophecy warns us that we cannot receive this deliverance from sin and satan, and the renewal in Christ, in our own, human strength or by doing our best, but that this must happen by His redeeming and healing Word, which He will speak through His called, anointed servants.
All that man does, however beautiful in men's eyes, will have no eternal value. His Spirit must Itself implant this Word in our spirit, our soul, and in our body.

2. The forming of the Christian Church.
Isaiah 40:9-10 "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid, say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rulefor him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him."
He shall also form workers from among the people He shall call and anoint hereto, who will proclaim His redeeming and creating Word. These must thereto climb upon a high mountain. This mountain is the great power of the Holy Spirit, of His anointing unto the labor, His clothing with divine power; which, by His Word as a two-edged sharp sword, through His servants, will defeat satan's power; and will destroy satan's power in the body, soul and spirit of the people who will repent, taking them into God's Kingdom.
Isaiah 40:11 "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead them that are with young."
Then YaHWeH Himself shall through His eternal Son build His Church and make her into the New Jerusalem.
Matthew 16:16-19 "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Here, Peter stands for all His servants, that He called hereto, and whom He shall strengthen with the keys to His kingdom to open the doors thereof for the converts, and to lead them further inwards into His Holy Place.

Amen.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

Isaiah´s prophesy of God's offer of grace in the New Covenant, and of His forming of the Christian Church.

Living and working in the spiritual sabbath´s rest (peace) of God

Psalm 92
Psalm 92:1-3 "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O most High: To shrew forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound."
The psalmist sang this psalm on the Sabbath and exalted YaHWeH with his song. In the Old Covenant God, according to His law, commanded for the Sabbath day to be kept holy.
Deuteronomy 5:12 "Keep the Sabbath day (the seventh day, with us the Saturday) to sanctify it, as the Lord Thy God (YaHWeH) hath commanded thee."
In the Old Covenant God expressed His will through a day of rest, which his people had to sanctify. God wanted to teach His people to dedicate their thoughts, works and their lives to Him alone, in order that He, through the inspiration of His Spirit, could fill His people with His will and His Word, so that they, being delivered from the influence of the enemy, could learn to rest fully in His will and Word. Even now, under the New Covenant, He wants this; He wants us to do this continuously, and not to desecrate this rest in Him.
In order to teach man this in the Old Covenant, He commanded in His law (the ten commandments), that His people should rest from their labors once a week, namely on the Sabbath day, and that they should sanctify this day by dedicating it to Him. In the Old Covenant He had to express His spiritual purpose for man through a shadow image, because man then could not yet understand His will, because the Rebirth of God did not yet exist; for only a bornagain person can conquer sin in His power and grace, and rest in His will and Word. This was really God's purpose when He introduced the Sabbath day in the Old Covenant.
Colossians 2:16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
In the Old Covenant this was still to come, but now the Body of Christ must fulfil God's true purpose, namely to rest always in His will and Word, and must not desecrate this rest by falling into sin again. If, in the Old Covenant, God commanded this for ONE day, for us, under the New Covenant, we should dedicate EVERY day to Him, and rest in His will and Word continuously.
Romans 14:5-10 "One man esteemed one day above another: another esteemed every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regarded the day, regarded it unto the Lord; and he that regarded not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and gives God thanks. For none of us lived to himself, and no man died to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge Thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought Thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ."
The psalmist sanctified the Sabbath day, according to the Mosaic law, and he sang YaHWeH's praises and confessed Him to be the Most High in his life. We usually do this on the Sunday, but also EVERY day of the week. Let us then judge no one, whether he wishes to dedicate a specific day to God, or whether he wishes to honor Him every day. The same applies to food and drink. The one may not eat or drink in honor of God, the other does. The Lord Jesus said in
Matthew 15:11 "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth (our speech, when we judge or slight someone), this defileth a man."
Acts 10:15b "...What God hath cleansed, that call not thou (Peter) common (impure)."
Let us then judge no one, whatever he eats or drinks, because God cancelled these legalistic rules of the Old Covenant as they are symbolic of spiritual matters of the New Covenant. This also applies to the eating of black pudding. Everyone should be fully assured inwardly/in his or her own heart on the basis of God's Word (Colossians 2:16-17).

Psalm 92:4-5 "For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. O Lord, how great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep."
If we walk and live on the Way of YaHWeH's grace, and no sin or sinful state will accuse us anymore in our conscience, then there will be JOY in our hearts, poured in there by YaHWeH, and we will thank, honor and praise Him, and we will often accompany our praise with musical instruments.
Psalm 92:6-7 "A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever."
We praise His works and thoughts, but the unconverted people and fools are blind to these. They neither see nor understand. They do not seek God's will, but they seek worldly profits and carnal lusts and pursue pride/fame and power over people. If they continue in this they will be lost in God's condemnation, for they live and think thus in enmity with God and let themselves, unknowingly, be inspired by satan[1] in their king, their speaking and their works.
Romans 8:5-8 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
We all did walk as they do (in the flesh, according to our own will), but we have now turned to God and are willing to enter into a deep and permanent relationship with Him (YaHWeH) in His heavenly Kingdom, also now that we are still on earth.
Ephesians 2:1-6 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
The sinners, who do not convert to God and do not confess their sins to Him live outside/without God, even if the go to church and behave religiously, but God (Jesus Christ) does not see them, and does not hear their prayers/supplications.

CLICK HERE if you want to read more – the study is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

Three reasons that will bring us joy in the Lord

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Three reasons: Mentioned in Isaiah 9

We live in the end-time, a time full of God's judgments over manhood because of its many sins. This is why it is good for God's children to learn how to be able to live in His spiritual joy in order that they might live in His joy, His strength, in spite of worldly problems. Nehemiah 8 verse 11 says:

"The joy of the Lord is your strength."

Let us first read Isaiah 60 verse 1-2:

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord (YaHWeH) is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord (YaHWeH) shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee."

The Netherlands, as it were, defy God with their laws, their homo marriage and euthanasia laws, their abortion law, their attitude toward life. Isaiah 8 verse 21-22 and 9 verse 1 speaks about these dark last days:

"And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness. Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the natoins."

The world of the last days force God to judge it.We read further in Isaiah 9 verse 2:

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."

When we are plunged in great social and political darkness God will shine a GREAT LIGHT of His Spirit and His Word over us, as a result of which people's consciences will be strongly convicted of sin, and they will be converted; that is to say: the wise among us.

Let Isaiah 9 be our guide further. I will quote the next verse from the literal translation of the original Hebrew text, because the translation we have differ from it.

Isaiah 9 verse 3: "You have multiplied the nation (a great revival took place because of God's light of Word and Spirit), the joy You have not increased. NOW they rejoice in Your sight. They rejoice in the harvest the way one does, when the spoil is divided."

Many will be converted because of God's light. But there will only be spiritual joy in their hearts if they obey the three reasons, conditions, the three "FOR"s Isaiah's prophecy mentions in the following three verses.

The first "FOR":

Isaiah 9 verse 4: "FOR thou hast broken the yoke of his (satan's)[1] burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian."

The Lord fulfilled this on Calvary. There He broke satan's power of sin for ever. He worked an "eternal redemption" there .

Hebrews 9 verse 12: "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

We have to firmly believe in this victory over satan and, always/at all times. We should keep this in our hearts as a firm promise of God.

2 Corinthians 4 verse 10-11: "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."

Thus, we must stay focused on Calvary! One also must BELIEVE that Jesus has the power to deliver us from all power of sin.

1 John 3 verse 8: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,that he might destroy the works of the devil."

The second “FOR”:

Believing in His offer for us, however, is not enough. This happened nearly 2000 years ago, but NOW, now that we are converted to Him, He must be able to fulfil this finished work in our personal lives. The sin in our hearts and lives still has to be defeated. For this purpose we must open our hearts and lives to Him so that the King of Glory could come in and wage war with us against every (power of) sin that reigns in our hearts, thoughts and lives.

Revelation 3 verse 20: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Then He will have SUPPER with us, which means that He will work in us His death and resurrection, His victory over the power of sin and over satan. He must be allowed to do away with, and burn away, our sins and our sinful state; He must be allowed to wash them in His blood.

Isaiah 9 verse 5 tells us the same. And this is the second "FOR" that will make us rejoice in the Lord.

Isaiah 9 verse 5: "FOR every boot of the trampler is with shaking and the coat rolled in blood shall even become burning, fuel for the fire" (literal translation of the original Hebrew text).

Every act of ours that steps on our neighbour mercilessly, and every way of life, every tongue that kills/murders our neighbour, every sin of body, soul and spirit in relation to material or neighbour, as well as all labor for the Lord that we did in our own strength, must be burned away by the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit and of God's Word. We must be delivered of any stain of the old sinful life through participation in His death, in His victory over sin; we must be purified in His blood.

Again, this being freed from sin is not enough. We must also receive from Him the NEW divine life in this sinful world, and continue to walk in a fresh, living RELATIONSHIP with Him, our King and God.

The third “FOR”:

This is the third "FOR" through which we may receive joy in the Lord. Being delivered from the old, sinful life, we may also take part in His resurrection life. In that life we first are born again, and are then allowed to grow therein unto completeness, perfection, until the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ nature. In the process our relationship with Jesus Christ, our King and Lord, also grows into completeness.

First He is born in our heart:

Isaiah 9 verse 6-7: "FOR unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

He, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, has been given to us for an ETERNAL Friend

John 14 verse 16: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."

In this NEW LIFE we must be willing to obey our Leader and King under the discipline of His precious Word, and we must continue to walk circumspectly/carefully.

Psalm 2 verse 10-12: "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth (we must OBEY the Son). Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling (we must SERVE Him). Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (we must LOVE Him).”

We must continue to SERVE Him and to LOVE Him, and stay within the FEAR of the Lord lest we fall back into sin. Then He shall lead us with His wonderful counsel, and prove Himself our strong God. He shall be a Father to us and a Prince of Peace, and He shall be our King from NOW until eternity.

Let us also take the next verses to heart:

Matthew 5 verse 8: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall SEE God."

Psalm 16 verse 11: "...in thy presence is fulness of joy..."

Now the purified person can pursue the perfect relationship with the Spirit of the Lamb, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Philippians 3 verse 10-14: "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Our old person must participate more and more in His suffering and death. The New in us, the divine nature, must in ever greater measure have a part in His resurrection Holiness, Glory and Power...! Amen.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

Three reasons (mentioned in Isaiah 9) that will bring us joy in the Lord

Bible studies, available on our website www.endtime-messenger.com

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1. A closer look at Christ's Second Coming
2. Called by the Spirit of God to take part unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb of God and unto the Divine Marriage.
3. Called to be made up to God’s purpose with mankind: an eternal sanctuary of our almighty God and Father.
4. God shall shake the Church and the world in the end-time.
5. Jesus our Guide, Redeemer, Saviour, Sanctifier and Complete and Perfect maker.
6. JOHN – The book about the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
7. LUKE – The book of the NEW MAN in Christ (about Jesus, the High Priest, and how we, as priest of the most high God, must serve Him).
8. Our earthly Divine calling: “And you shall by My witnesses”.
9. Sanctification.
10. Soon there will be a Divine Wedding here on earth (namely, a great latter Rain, a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in these last days).
11. The 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins and their destiny in the end-time.
12. The 7 phases of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
13. The 7 Spirits of God and of the Lamb of God (Revelation 4:5 and 5:6).
14. The 7 thunderclaps of Revelation 10:3.
15. The 10 fulfilled (perfect) laws of the Kingdom of heaven on earth (the Church), given by our Lord Jesus Christ.
16. The Day of YaHWeH (and the development of the Church during that “Day”).
17. The Divine healing work in the Church of the end-time.
18. The false state church of the last days (a co-ordinate institution of Christian Churches in the end-time.) The great harlot of Rev.17.
19. The ladder of God's blessing bringing grace.
20. The New Jerusalem, the Bride of God's Lamb, the Body of Christ.
21. The perfection in Christ on earth, in the end-time.
22. The sermon of the Lord Jesus Christ on the mount (the constitution of the Kingdom of heaven on earth – part 1, 2, 3).
23. The shed Blood of God’s Lamb, Who now sits on heaven’s throne, Who overcomes all satan’s (sin)power.
24. The tabernacle of Israel (God’s prophetic model of the spiritual developments of a true child of God unto all perfectness).
25. The ultimate, Divine GLORY of the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the end-time, which is GREATER than the glory of the first Church.
26. The victors; over (the power of) sin and satan in the last days.
27. The wonderful works of the Holy Spirit in the end-time.
28. Thou, people of Israel, wake up! (A prophetic Bible study with relation to the political repair and the complete return of the whole of Israel to Canaan).
29. What God has prepared for those, who love Him.
30. What Scripture teaches about the Millennium of King Jesus (the porch of the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem).

The study: “What Scripture says about our almighty God” is not yet ready.

A. Klein

PS:
On our Dutch website – http://www.eindtijdbode.nl/ – we have a lot more Bible studies (from different writers/Bible-teachers), as well on the website as on our Blog. If you can read Dutch, you can take a look.

Bible studies about the endtime and Second (2nd) Coming of Jesus Christ

Introductory letter

Introduction words

The main purpose of the Bible studies on our website – www.endtime-messenger.com/ – as well as the short studies that we monthly hope to pass on, by a (so-called) newsletter on our Blog ‘The Endtime-messenger', can be summarized in the following Scripture from 2 Corinthians 11 verse 2 (a mixed translation from “King James Version” and “Thompson Chain-Reference”):

"For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you (especially spiritually) to one husband, to Christ, so that I may present you as a pure virgin (as a Bride) to Him."

Christ is coming very soon, to marry His Bride (the so-called 'wise-virgins', see Matt. 25:1-13 and/or note[1]) – in the spirit – to save her, a bit later in time, for the “great tribulation” (i.e. oppression – see Matt. 24:21) that will come over the whole world. This “be taken care of” concerns only His wife (see Rev. 12:6 and 14). But... are we PERSONALLY – and spiritually seen – ready for His coming as our Bridegroom?

This is the reason why the studies that we offer you, are not 'just' Bible studies in a general sense, no, they contain a Message which is intended for all those Christians that expected Jesus Christ (very) soon as 'their' Bridegroom. Many studies on our website contain 'the Message of the cross': And with this we mean that, what is written in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 2: "...Jesus Christ and Him crucified..."! That is: "Jesus Christ and those that – with Him – are crucified! So we should also – in spiritual terms – (want to) be crucified with Him, namely: die too (i.e. set free from) our old, sinful nature!
Many say that this is NOT possible, but Paul, who did this inspired statement, indeed lived ‘a crucified life’. Read intently about his converted life, about his ‘wheeling and dealing’ and you'll 'taste' what a crucified life really means. (And hopefully realize that it is possible to lead a crucified life, and also that it is necessary – and the only Way – if we want to be used by God.) Paul TRULY could say: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20a). This is further clarified in 1 Corinthians 6:19 where it is written: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (in which He lives and is enthroned – i.e. true which He should have complete control/authority, by His Spirit) Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not (longer the ‘boss’) of your own.” Because “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Gal. 5:24)

The battle against satan[2] and his (power of) sin has been completed/accomplished and conquered by Jesus – on the cross on Calvary – but we, as Christians, must also ‘die on the cross’; must (desire) our old sinful nature to die. This Word of the cross – thus: the (desire) for our old sinful nature to die – is, in the course of time, whisked away/pushed away by satan, but will be preached again with power in the end of times.
The Message of ‘the cross’ is a truth that was rediscovered by Luther (who lived from 1483 till 1546), but – sadly – was lost again later on. This Message WAS and IS not a popular one! Not at all in our present way of thinking/mental world. The ‘flesh’ reigns supreme in our days, in the world, but also in the Church, because also a lot of Christians do still have a lot of desires of the flesh. And thinking in the flesh is the opposite of thinking through the spirit, and also opposite on thinking according to God’s will. Sadly – this has the (logical) result that also the acts and behaviour (the so-called ‘wheeling and dealing’) of many Christians is worldly. But… this Message of ‘dead off the flesh' (i.e. our old sinful nature to die) will be put forward strongly – by Gods Spirit – in the end-times. And, this Message, this ‘Gospel of the cross', is truly: ‘the FULL Gospel’!And this ‘FULL Gospel-message’ is necessary, because… God is going to judge this world, and His judgment starts by “the house of God” (see 1 Peter 4:17). The “house of God” is the image of the (world-wide) Church we belong to, if we believe in Jesus Christ.

But… why should His judgment start by us?Because “the house of God” is not yet ready to receive Jesus Christ as their Heavenly Bridegroom! More than ever before, many Christians (who must be ‘followers’ of Christ) are worldly and do still have (a lot of) desires of the flesh. Read 2 Timothy 3 verse 2-5, where the conclusion is: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves… lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God: having a form of godliness”, because they still like to follow their own desires of the flesh. Read also Revelation 3 verse 15-19, where is written: “because you are (spiritually) lukewarm… I am about to spit you out of My mouth”! A lot of Christians are thinking that ‘believing’ is more than enough. But, to belong (a bit later in time) to the PURE and spotless Bride of Christ (see Eph. 5:27) that is NOT enough. Because, to belong to the Bride (or Bride-church) of Christ we have TRUELY to lead a crucified live, dead to our sinful passions and desires. And if we do not work on that spiritual state, then the judgment of God will come over us, which means that we will come in the “great tribulation” (see Matt. 24:21) because we are (spiritually) not ready as Bride, because to be clear – Christ cannot and will not marry an UNCLEAN Bride. It is not for nothing that Jesus, in Matthew 7 verse 23, says: “…Away from Me, you evildoers”! And there, in the “great tribulation”, they – the ones that are NOT ready to meet Christ as their Bridegroom – shall (literally) pay for their faith in Christ with their own lives (the so-called martyr’s dead). The Antichrist namely will kill all Christians who are left behind, during his 3½ years dominion on this earth. And that will be God’s judgment over “the house of God”, about all Christians who stay disobedient to His Message of ‘the cross’, a Message which will be heard (again) – loud and clearly – in the last days.

But, the above-mentioned will NOT say that these Christians, who will come in the “great tribulation” (i.e. oppression – see Matt. 24:21) and will be killed by the Antichrist, are lost. No, because, if they will stay in (believe in) Jesus Christ (till the end of their earthly life) and if they also will stay strong to refuse the mark of the beast – the main reason why the Antichrist will kill them – they will be saved for eternity.

We can split-up/classify the end-time in so-called ‘phases’, see the scheme underneath, and now (according to us) we are in phase 1, but also in the beginning of phase 2. At almost every phase, one or more studies are mentioned, studies you can find on our website and which you can download for FREE, if you want to.

We hope to put short Bible studies, about 2 times a month, on our Blog (which you can reach through our website www.endtime-messenger.com/ ).


We wish you God’s Blessings,

A. Klein

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A brief summary of the end-time scenario:
This is only a short explanation, when you want to know more, you can read the recommended studies (see the notes) or you can send us an e-mail.

Phase1:Problems in the world are increasing.[3]
Think of problems in the field of environment and various natural disasters, but also all kinds of (growing) economic, political and problems of spiritual nature.Phase 2:Mental (and spiritual) preparation of the Bride.[4]
The Bride will be made similar – in the spirit – to her Bridegroom. First hidden. Later revealed and, visible for others (This is the real: Participation at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb[5] – see Revelation 19:9 of the KJV. Meaning: Being prepared to let all the old and sinful ways COMPLETELY die in our hearts and lives!).
Just as we should not take on an unequal yoke in marriage, the same and even more so applies to Christ (read Revelation 19:7b-9 and Ephesians 5:26-27).
Phase 3:War of Gog and Magog.
Read Ezekiel, Chapter 38 and 39. With Gog, Magog, Tubal and Meshech we refer to Russia and China (and presumably North Korea and Iran). With Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish and all their young lions we refer to all ‘Christian’ countries.
Phase 4:A ‘great ‘man’ (or woman) will appear on the world stage posing as a world leader who apparently will solve a lot of problems in the world.
See for further explanation Phase 6 and 7.
Phase 5:The latter-rain revival begins.[6]
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the hearts and lives of the Bride will cause a great revival resulting into a bountiful harvest of souls (see Joel 2:23b and 28-29).
Phase 5a:The Wedding of the Lamb.[7]
Just before the great tribulation Jesus will come back (INvisible) for his Bride – in the spirit – to marry her. The marriage of Christ and his Bride (or Bride church) is called “the great Mystery"[8] (see Eph. 5:32)
Phase 6:Start of the 1st period of 3½ years reign of the earlier mentioned world leader, who seemingly seem to bring peace to the world.
This will be the 1st period of 3½ years where the Antichrist is already ruling but where most people see him (falsely) as peace ruler or Messiah, as the world leader who seems to solve a lot of world problems. This will be followed by the 2nd period of 3½ years (see Phase 7) in which the Antichrist will show his true face. Think of the biblical warning: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them” (see 1 Thess. 5:3).
Phase 7:Start of the great tribulation of 3½ years.
The aforementioned world leader is now FULLY owned by satan, and so transformed into a VERY CRUEL world leader, the Antichrist (the opponent of Christ and Christians). And this will be clearly noticeable to all sincere Christians. They will be persecuted (and many of them will be slain). But... God will come to rescue many of them. See the next stage.
(For the Jews / Israelites God has another plan – see Phase 7c).
Phase 7a:The caught up (unto God) of the 144,000 and the fled of the Bride.Just after the start of the great tribulation, the male son – the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel[9] – will be taken into heaven (see Rev. 12:4b-5).
Soon after that the Bride will be taken away – the so-called removal – to the desert, where she will be kept and fed by God for 1260 days (see Rev. 12:6 and 14).
Phase 7b:Martyrdom of the remaining Christians during 3½ year great tribulation.Christians (the so-called forecourt Christians – see Rev. 11:1-2), the ones who will NOT participate in the fled of the Bride, and due to deficiencies and/or imperfections in their faith[10] NOT belong to the Bride of Christ, will – if they refuse the sign of the beast – die the martyr death during the great tribulation, the 3½ year reign of the Antichrist. The 42 months (or 3½ years or 1278 days) of Revelation 11:2.
Phase 7c:The 2 witnesses of God in Israel (see Rev. 11:3-12).During the great tribulation of 1260 days, 2 special witnesses, personally sent by God (probably Moses and Elijah) will come to Israel. This will convince many Jews / Israelites to a conversion to the true faith in Jesus Christ, THE Messiah.
Phase 7d:The sign of the beast.
All the other people in the great tribulation will adopt the sign of the beast, which will make them possessed (fully taken in possession) by the Antichrist. This is irreversible for them. Those who adopt the sign of the beast can NEVER repent and have a conversion.
Phase 8:Christ is coming back to earth[11] – visible to all people – with His army of 144,000 soldiers.>>>This return signals the end of the great tribulation.
>>>Desiest Christians of all ages (and the Old Testament believers) are raised from the dead.
>>>The Bride – who until that moment has been kept alive on this earth[12] – will now, together with the ones resurrected from the death, in a point of time be changed (see 1 Thess. 4:14-17).
Phase 9:The start of the Millennium (the 1000-year reign of God).[13]
During this Millennium of God’s Peace, ALL Christians will be brought to the same spiritual level: This applies to the ones who barely made it into the Kingdom of God and the so-called saints of all ages, the perfect Bride and everything – in the spiritual sense – in between.
The Bible clearly states that “no flesh and blood” will inherit the Kingdom of God. So there will be no conversions during the Millennium. Besides, all living godless people – those who adopted the sign of the beast – will be slain by Jesus (and the 144,000) at His return (see Rev. 19:11-21).
Phase 10:The new heaven and new earth.[14]
After the Millennium, the Government of God will start on the new earth(s), the (new) habitable planets created by God. In this new world(’s) we will reign with Christ over the then created mankind. He as THE King and we as kings. He as THE Lord, we as lords. See also Luke 19:17b and 19 “you shall have authority over 10 or 5 cities”[15]

• If you find our (end-time) studies interesting, we would like it, if you will tell others about our website and/or our Blog.

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.
[2] See our study: “The 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins and their destiny in the end-time”.
[3] See our studies: “God shall shake the Church and the world in the end-time”, “The Day of the Lord (i.e. YaHWeH)”, and “The 7 thunderclaps of Revelation 10:3”.
[4] See our studies: “The 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins and their destiny in the end-time”, “The victors; over (the power of) sin and satan in the last days”, “The perfection in Christ on earth, in the end-time”, “Soon there will be a Divine Wedding here on earth”, “Sanctification”, “The Divine healing work in the Church of the end-time”, “What God has prepared for those, who love Him”, and “LUKE – The book of the NEW MAN in Christ”.
[5] See our study: “Called by the Spirit of God to take part unto the marriage supper of the Lamb of God…”.
[6] See our study: “The wonderful works of the Holy Spirit in the end-time”.
[7] See our study: “Soon there will be a Divine Wedding here on earth”.
[8] Jesus will come back as BRIDEGROOM for His – already on this earth – cleansed/purifyed Bride. Than the Wedding of the Lamb is a fact and His Wife (called ‘the Bride’ before the Wedding) will become pregnant (thus: AFTER the Wedding) (see Rev. 12:2) of the spiritual sons, the 144,000 (who – in spiritual sense – will “come out of her” by the FULL INDWELLING and WORKING of the Holy Spirit) because of the intercourse/relation (in the spirit) with her Bridegroom.
In natural life – after intercourse, impregnation and birth – a baby becomes visible after it was hidden for 9 months in the womb. Spiritually the male son is at first also present, but still hidden in the Body of the Bride-church (because “the male son” is still among them), but suddenly, just as a natural birth, this son will be VISIBLE (i.e. “the manifestation of the sons of God” – see Ro. 8:18-19). So, it is not “the birth of a son” who – spiritually – still has to grow, but this son will be visible (i.e. manifest) in the stature of “a FULL-GROWN” (i.e. PERFECT) son. This son (the 144.000) has (spiritually) come to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (see Eph. 4:3).
[9] See our study: “Thou, people of Israel, wake up!”.
[10] Those Christians who – spiritually – do not come up to Eph. 5 verse 27: “…a radiant church, (spiritually) without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” and Revelation 19 verse 7: “…His bride has made herself ready”.· See our study: “The 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins and their destiny in the end-time”.
[11] See our study: “A closer look at Christ’s Second Coming”.
[12] “…we (i.e. the [members of the] Bride) which are alive and remain (on this earth) unto the (visible) coming of the Lord...” (see 1 Th. 4:15).
[13] During the Millennium there will only live children of God on this earth, and these ALL will have received RESURRECTION-bodies. ALL OTHERS (the unbelievers and godless humans) will be killed by the visible Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Rev. 14:9-11, 19:21). No flesh and blood will inherit the Kingdom of God and, thus, also not enter the Millennium (see 1 Co. 15:50).
In the Millennium there will be a LOVE-DOMINIUM, just as a (good) mother will “RULE”, in love, over here children, but “SERVE” them as well. See Isa. 32:1, Ps. 45:17, Mt. 23:11, Mk. 9:35, Lk. 19:16-19, 1 Pe. 2:9, Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 20:4.
During the Millennium there will be PRIEST-KINGS, who will rule with Christ in LOVE (Christ as the "King of kings" and as the "Lord of lords") over the other children of God. (Because, there are CROWNED and UNCROWNED in this Kingdom of God.)
Christ will be the KING OD THE EARTH (see Ps. 2:6-8, 45:2-9, Isa. 9:5-6, 32:1, Jer. 23:5b-6, Zec. 14:9).
He will share His throne with His QUEEN: with those Christians who, by grace, in the last days, ON EARTH will have achieve the status of the PERFECTION IN CHRIST (see Ps. 45:10-16, Rev. 3:21, 14:1-5).
There are also climatic changes. That’s why this earth, already now – a.o. by cataclysm, who increase – will be prepared for its new task during the Millennium of Christ. Because nature will be changed radically/fundamentally during the Millennium (see Zec. 14:6-7, Isa. 30:26).
JERUSALEM will be the CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (see Isa. 31:38-40, Isa. 62:1-7, Zec. 8:3).
There will be PEACE and JUSTICE on earth, the EARTHLY PARADISE will be RESTORED (see Mal. 4:2, Isa. 61:11).Those who want to know more about the Millennium we can recommend our study: “What Scripture teaches about the Millennium of King Jesus”.
[14] After the Millennium, God will create the NEW HEAVEN and the NEW EARTH, for His beatify, on which they, with God’s eternal Son, may rule. See Isa. 65:17-25, 11:6-9 and Rev. 21:1-8. The NEW JERUSALEM (i.e. the Bride) will come down, on these NEW EARTH, from the heaven (see Rev. 21:9-27). And the ETERNAL STREAM OF LIVING WATER, namely GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT, will flow through whole this NEW Creation of God and FULFILL her till all eternity (i.e. for ever and ever) (see Rev. 22:1-5).
[15] See our study: “The new Jerusalem, the Bride of God's Lamb, the Body of Christ”.
Introductory letter from the Endtime-messenger