For all who have read posts that the Father has given me in the past, some of this is intended as a reminder as to our getting closer and closer to the end of this age. For all who have not seen them, the information is intended to get the Holy Spirit to lead you to your Salvation through Jesus, our Savior. (ESV – all emphasis is mine)
End-of-this-age signs were prophesied by numerous people in both the Old and New Testaments in the Bible. This also includes statements made by our Savior while He was in human form on this earth. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul states, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Godliness, having the appearance of Godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
Looking at each and every negative issue above, they have all been with us since the first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden, recorded in Genesis 3. The largest difference is the degree of intensity of all that is taking place today. We are seeing increased hatred worldwide, and anything to do with our Lord and Savior is a clear pathway to persecution.
In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul tells us, “for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, and having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth, and wander off into myths.”
Today, we are witnessing some previously biblical denominations “tweaking” the Word to accommodate the membership’s personal lifestyles. There are issues that our Heavenly Father has declared to be sinful, yet some modern preachers are saying they are suddenly no longer a sin.
The first answer to this is Numbers 23:19; “God is not man that He should lie, or a son of man that He should change His mind. Has He said and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will not fulfill it?”
Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
James 1:12-14, 17, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the Crown of Life, which God has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Every good gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
As long as we are in these imperfect mortal human bodies, we will be subject to sin. Before anyone tries to say they do not sin, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23 tell us we are all sinners.
The Father knows we are imperfect and we will sin, and He has given a pathway to forgiveness for those who sincerely repent. Psalm 32:5: “I acknowledge my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave all the iniquity of my sin.”
Psalm 103:11-12: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear [respect] Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”
In 1 John 1:7-10, all true believers have a pure pathway to forgiveness. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Quite frankly, I do not want to be accused of calling our Creator a liar. When I go to the Lord in prayer every day, I admit what He already knows, that I have fallen short and ask His forgiveness. It makes me long for the day when the “Trumpet of God will sound, and there is a shout from an archangel,” and we will be taken off this earth to be with our Jesus forever! (1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). One of the best parts of this will be to have our new immortal bodies and the mindset of our Savior. No more pain and suffering, and no more falling into Satan’s temptation traps.
That brings us to a hymn titled, “This World Is Not My Home.” One source states it was written by Albert Brumley in 1919. One of the best renditions was sung by the late Jim Reeves.
1.) This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
Ref.) Oh Lord, You know I have no friend like You. If Heaven’s not my Home, then Lord what will I do? The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
2,) They’re expecting me, and that’s one thing I know. My Savior pardoned me, and now I onward go; I know He’ll take me through, though I am weak and poor, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore. (ref)
- I have a loving Savior just up in Gloryland; I don’t expect to stop until I shake His hand. He’s waiting now for me in Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore. (ref)
4.) Just up in Gloryland, we’ll live eternally. The saints on every hand are shouting Victory! Their songs of sweetest praise drift back from Heaven’s shore, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore. (ref)
Our Savior knew full well that there would be more souls that would reject Him rather than accept His free gift of eternal life in Heaven (Matthew 7:13-14). All who will have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ when they leave this earth (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Likewise, all who do not have Jesus as their Savior when they take their last breath here will appear at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. There will be no more forgiveness available at this judgment, as everyone there will be cast into the lake of fire forever. The main decision will be what the degree of forever punishment each person will receive.
Our Father will force no one to receive and accept His Son as their Savior but will honor all who truly do. No one has sinned so greatly that the sinless shed blood of our Jesus cannot reach them. All who repent and call out for forgiveness will be saved. That’s in Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13.
The choice is up to each and every person, but it can only be made while we are still alive here. At our last breath, our eternity becomes permanent. Heaven or Hell – now is the time to decide which one you will enter. We are not promised tomorrow, as James 4:13-15 and numerous other Bible passages state.
All earthly signs are indicating this era is getting closer to the end. As Jesus stated in Luke 21:28, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Our Savior’s warning is very current for today’s world. It is not too early to call on Jesus today to be your Savior forever. He promised all who become a part of His precious flock will have a home prepared by Him in Heaven (John 14:2).
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!