Faith of the Saints :: By Rick Segoine

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles

All of the Old Testament Prophets and Patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Enoch and Job, Noah, Moses, the Maccabees, and so many more are to be admired for their great faith. The Lord looked upon the faith of these folks to be as righteousness (Romans 4:3-5).

These famous and not-so-famous individuals all lived on the earth long before Jesus came to this world to offer Himself so that His righteousness could cover the sins of all who believed in Him (Romans 3:20-31).

By the inspiration of God through the Holy Spirit, clues were provided by many Old Testament prophets about some of the things the coming Messiah would do and how to recognize Him (Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3; Genesis 14:1; Genesis 22:8; Exodus 12:5; Exodus 12:21-27; Exodus 12:46; Deuteronomy 18:15-16; Job 19:23-27; Psalms 2:7; Psalms 17:15; Psalms 22:18; Isaiah 6:1; Isaiah 7:14). These are just a few of the more than 300 Old Testament prophecies of the first advent of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Jesus fulfilled all of those more than 300 Old Testament prophecies. However, none of the Old Testament saints, or those who prophesied about the coming Messiah, had the benefit of reading about or knowing the details regarding the life on Earth lived by Jesus Christ and the things He said or the miraculous things He did.

The Old Testament saints’ efforts to do the will of God our Creator took great courage and tremendous faith and were counted by God as righteousness.

It must have helped that some of the Old Testament saints observed or took part in supernatural miracles. As for knowledge, however, they knew much less than we do today about the overall plans that our Heavenly Father had and still has for the salvation of mankind and how it would involve the entire planet and all of the nations and peoples of Earth. We who are alive today have the benefit of all of history to learn from. That is, if we choose to learn from it.

Because of the invention of the printing press, we have the Old Testament, the New Testament, Bible dictionaries, concordances, and countless commentaries based on years of studies and research translated into every language and distributed all over the world.

We have thousands of books on every possible biblical subject, as well as books about the many colorful characters that populate biblical history. Books written by dedicated Holy Spirit-inspired men and women who have spent countless hours doing their homework and research.

To teach us what paths not to take, we are able to observe the writings and teachings of a large number of false prophets and charlatans who led people astray.

We have the benefit of books such as The Kingdom of the Cults by Dr. Walter Martin. Dr. Martin placed the teachings of the Holy Bible and the teachings of the various cults side by side. In so doing, it reveals the many contradictions of the cult teachings as well as the consistency of Bible teaching.

The book The Kingdom of the Cults allows the Bible itself to answer every question in dispute so that we can see how the wisdom of God prevails over the fiction perpetrated by any and all false doctrines. Doctrines were invented by false prophets and teachers who fulfilled Jesus’s words in the book of Matthew when he warned us not to be deceived, for many would come along teaching “another Jesus.”

Books such as The Kingdom of the Cults also bring the prophecies made by Jesus in Matthew chapter 24 to life and put actual flesh and blood on them. We have the benefit of learning about the deluded human beings who actually fulfilled and embodied the warnings of Jesus. We can see that they did deceive many, and also just how they went about practicing their occultic deceptions. Such knowledge is helpful in guarding against being deceived, as well as warning and helping others become free of deception imposed by false teachings of “another Jesus.”

At the same time, we learn how the delusional imaginations of man and womankind know no boundaries by observing the numerous variations of “another Jesus. All of them are inspired by the father of lies, also known as Satan/Lucifer.

The Old Testament saints had no such benefits as these. Especially the entire New Testament. The New Testament sums up biblical history (Acts7:1-53; Hebrews) prior to Jesus and all of the plans of God for the future of mankind and planet Earth, and about the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21-22; Isaiah 65:17-25). Plans of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are revealed through precise prophecies and detailed teachings.

Because six days have now passed in regard to God’s “Week of Creation,” which comprises seven millenniums, we can now see more clearly how God is in control of His Creation. It is also much easier to see the big picture as painted by the Lord on His eternal canvas. (Reference the entire Holy Bible.)

We are able to know this because scripture reveals that one thousand years is as a day to the Lord. By the way, 1,000 years is 1,000 years and not 1,000 years give or take a few years. (2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4, and about 40 other bible verses speak of this.) The Creator of the Universe, He who Declares the End from the Beginning, knows how to count a lot better than even the greatest of human mathematicians.

It is believed that the great human mathematician Albert Einstein humbly understood that his own intelligence was dwarfed by the intelligence of the Creator of all life. And all of this knowledge is now quite literally at our fingertips and is instantly and easily accessed on a handheld device called a cell phone, a device that pretty much every human being on the planet owns.

The Old Testament saints had no such access because the technology was many centuries away from even being invented, let alone distributed to billions of people. No, they got their information the old-fashioned way, if they got it at all. The old-fashioned way, of course, being on foot, or by way of mule, horse, camel, or for the truly advanced, carrier pigeon.

Then, around the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, ancient prophetic words began to be fulfilled slowly yet steadily. Prophecies about how all hidden things would be made known and knowledge would increase in the latter days (Luke 8:17; Mark 4:22; Daniel 12:4). These prophecies appear to be two-fold.

Knowledge regarding technology has led to such things as personal digital cell phones as well as the technology allowing the antichrist to implant the mark of the beast and to control global finance, and the knowledge to be able to discern that we are actually in the latter days.

These advances in technology started out slowly and steadily, then began to pick up steam along the way, and in the last couple of decades, have advanced at remarkable speeds that have rendered previous advances obsolete within a few years or less. An example could be made very easily with telephones. In just about one generation, we have gone from dial phones and party lines to 5G cell phones, which are tiny, highly advanced computers and are possessed by billions of people. Some might argue that it is the phones that possess the people.

(A side note: 5G technology is a subject worthy of discussion in regard to safe radiation levels and the possible misuse of such technology for nefarious purposes.)

Another case in point is devices for listening to music, starting with the crank-up Victrola. Then, record players with 78, then 45, then 33 rpm (revolutions per minute), AM/FM radios, 8-Tracks, and cassettes. Analogue recordings gave way to digitally recorded compact discs (CDs) and then MP3s, wave files, blue tooth, and satellite radio.

Now, anyone can write a song, record all of the individual parts to the song on a computer with music recording software or a digital hard-drive recording unit that is basically a sophisticated computer, mix it down in either format with all the bells and whistles and effects, send it over to another digital machine that records and hands you a mastered Compact Disc of radio quality, put that CD into the computer, copy it in another software program, assign it to a computer file, and finally send either an MP3 or a Wave File of that song to anyone anywhere in the world instantly. All from home.

That is just one of many examples of the technological side of the prophecy about “knowledge being greatly increased” in the latter days.

The Old Testament saints had 4,000 years or less of scripture and word-of-mouth testimony to help them discern the Lord’s plans for the latter times. Four days or less of God’s “Week of Creation.” The closer they got to the first Advent of Jesus, the more info they had by way of the Prophets who lived before them. Prophets to whom were given visions of the end times by the Lord. These prophecies were recorded and written down by Hebrew scribes in the Torah and spread far and wide by oral testimony.

We, on the other hand, have the benefit of 6,000 years or six days of God’s “Week of Creation,” plus all of the knowledge of the New Testament, as well as the many books and written biblical aids mentioned earlier in this article, all to help us discern the signs of our times – signs provided to us by all of the Old Testament Prophets, the Disciples and Apostles, and our Lord and Savior Himself.

This is certainly another reason why “all knowledge shall be increased” in the end times.

Having said all of that, one thing is certain: we live in exciting times.

We have the knowledge that the sixth day of the Lord’s “week of Creation” is coming to a close, and the seventh and sabbath day is not very far into the future. Only the last of the birth pains Jesus alluded to – the Rapture and the Seven-year Tribulation – stand between today and the day Jesus will rule this world in righteousness from the city of Jerusalem. The Holy City that God loves. The apple of His eye. The fig tree that blossoms.

In the future, the Old Testament saints, the New Testament saints, and all true believers will be part of a most beautiful and amazing family. All of the Old Testament Prophets like Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Elijah, and all of the others, as well as Enoch and Moses and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and his sons, Noah and his sons, the Apostles, Paul and Timothy and Stephen and so many others, far too many to mention them all right now, will be there. They will be there along with everyone from the last 2,000 years who died in Christ. And everyone who is alive right now – trusting in Jesus and longing for our blessed hope – will also be there. Old Testament saints and New Testament saints united in one faith. All part of one family with Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. One family united in our love for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We will eventually have all of eternity to get to know each other and do truly amazing things together. And together, all reunited with loved ones, we will praise our Heavenly Father, and we will praise His Son, and we will praise the Holy Spirit who will live in our hearts forever. There will be unimaginable joy and not even the slightest trace of wickedness.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

If you read these words and have never given your heart to Jesus, please call to Him today. He wants you to be a part of this wonderful eternal future, for it is not His will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus would love to be your best friend forever and to bless you eternally with His goodness.

Romans 10:9-10 says: If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess your faith and are saved.”

A friend of Jesus and all of the saints,

Rick Segoine

Advent! :: By Terry James

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Terry James

Christmastime, celebrating the birth of Jesus, is for us a joyous occasion. Christ’s first coming to Earth to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world must have been, however, for His Father, an excruciating matter beyond any human ability to fathom.

Only the unfathomable love of God could condescend to meet humankind’s need for a Savior in a way that would require such sacrifice.

The Father’s love in sending His Son in that first Advent brings forth a terrible realization: His vengeance on the wicked who have rejected His Son will bring wrath and judgment, the likes of which are almost beyond imagination.

The rebel armies of Earth will be gathered by God Himself to the most horrific killing field of all wars. As the Second Advent proceeds and the black clouds of Tribulation part, a brilliant light from glory will illuminate not the baby of Bethlehem but the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Leaders of the forces meeting at Armageddon to battle each other will turn to see the brightness that has broken through the darkness that has overcast Earth’s skies because of the judgments of God. Antichrist, supreme leader of much of the forces west of the Euphrates River, will recognize the invading force from Heaven. Perhaps the leaders from the 200 million-man armies from the Orient that have crossed the dried-up Euphrates from the East will also know what the brilliant heavenly intrusion is all about. All earthly forces will then turn to concentrate their fire on the descending heavenly army led by Jesus Christ.

While the sea of humanity on the planet’s surface viciously roars in an attempt to prevent the heavenly intervention, those warring forces will turn from battling with each other to curse God and all His righteousness. Then Jesus Christ, mounted upon a stunning white steed, will speak words sharper than a two-edged sword.

Master to Calm Storm

I am convinced Christ’s words will be the same ones He spoke to that raging sea of Galilee nearly two millennia ago (read Mark 4:36-41). They are the same words He says today to everyone who turns to Him, acknowledging that there is nothing and no one but Christ who can save them. He says those words to all who accept Him and trust Him to save them from their sins and to make them born-again children of God.

Just as His words instantaneously calmed that violent sea, thus saving the men in the little boat, Jesus’ words will instantly end the warfare and rebellion at Armageddon. Christ’s words to the individual’s troubled heart likewise bring tranquility and joy to the soul. A person is never the same when Jesus speaks the life-changing words: “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39).

Bloody Peace

When Jesus speaks the words, “Peace, be still,” at Armageddon, His command will be against all the vileness that has been building in humanistic rebellion over the thousands of years since God last judged in such a mighty way. All people died in the Flood except Noah and seven others. Christ’s words at Armageddon will apparently cause most, if not all, of the soldiers of the armies of the world gathered there to literally burst open, so powerful will be His command!

The plains of Armageddon will flow with a flood of blood! The Scripture says of this event:

“And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs” (Revelation 14:20).

The point is, when Jesus speaks, His words are sharper and more powerful than a two-edged sword, Scripture says. When Christ speaks, all opposition by Earth’s armies will instantly cease and desist. All will lie horribly bloody–but peaceful—upon the vast killing field called Armageddon.

Jesus on the Throne!

Jesus, following His stunning victory over the enemies of God, will proceed to get the people of Israel who have, during the Tribulation, come to believe in Him. He will rescue them from the place God has hidden them. This hiding of believing Israel (all Jewish people who have accepted that Jesus was and is their Messiah) is revealed in the following passage:

“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:13-17).

The Hiding Place

Satan’s Antichrist forces will try to completely wipe the Jewish race from the face of the earth. They will try to fully implement Satan’s Final Solution. But God will intervene with great supernatural catastrophe and prevent Antichrist from finding the Jews. God will have hidden them somewhere. As we’ve looked at before, many prophetic scholars believe the hiding place will be in the Jordanian desert, in the “rose-red city” called Petra.

Jesus will retrieve these believing Jews from their hiding place and will use this remnant of the Jewish race to be His nation of Israel during His thousand-year rule on Earth called the Millennium.

Israel Saved!

The Bible says a third of Jews alive during the Tribulation will recognize their Messiah, Jesus Christ, at the moment He returns in the Second Coming. It will be a real eye-opener for them.

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).

Jesus will then move, with His saints of the Church Age and His chosen people (all of saved Israel), to Jerusalem. He will set up His throne upon a topographically changed Mt. Moriah in the Millennial Temple He will build.

Antichrist and False Prophet Judgment

The Lord Jesus will judge Antichrist and the False Prophet, who have persecuted Tribulation saints—particularly the Jewish race (Israel). We learn of these two beasts in the following:

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).

These two will be the first to be cast into Hell. They will have it to themselves until a thousand years later, after the white throne judgment.

Satan’s Confinement

The Devil will next be grabbed and confined for a thousand years.

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Revelation 20:1-3).

The bottomless pit is the same place from where the rich man, in torment, looked into Paradise to see Lazarus in Abraham’s Bosom, according to Jesus’ teaching (read Luke 16:19–31).

Sheep and Goat Judgments

Christ will judge the nations. Their fate will hang upon how they treated His chosen people, the Jews. The “goat” nations will stand on Christ’s left while He judges, while the “sheep” nations will stand on His right.

All in the goat nations will be cast into everlasting darkness, lost for eternity. These nations consist of individually lost souls, each of whom will, apparently, be placed in nations that have persecuted Jews and, most likely, Tribulation saints as well. The nations so judged will no longer be part of the nations of Earth. (Read Matthew 25:32–46 to learn exactly what the Word of God has to say about that great future judgment.)

It is logical to presume the saved people who have lived in the goat, or lost, nations will be put into the sheep nations, which will be allowed into the Millennial Kingdom. Likewise, the unsaved people who have lived in the sheep nations will go into the goat nations to meet their eternal fate in outer darkness.

Saints of the Tribulation who make it through the seven years alive will, individually, go into the nations that have treated Israel kindly. However, it must be recognized that the children who will be born during the Millennium will have to make the same decision their parents made: to either accept or reject Christ for salvation. Millions will not do so and will be as rebellious as those who lived before this time of Christ’s glorious, thousand-year reign on Earth. These unsaved will join Satan in the final rebellion when he is released from the bottomless pit for a brief time. All will be destroyed and will spend eternity in Hell apart from God.

Millions of others, who are the children of the saints who go into the Millennium, will accept Christ and will, ultimately, live eternally with God. These offspring of the Tribulation saints who go into the Millennium will be the peoples who will continue to repopulate the earth for a thousand years. All of these individuals will be saved for eternity.

Fantastic Changes!

Jesus will assume the throne that belongs to Him alone. It is called the “Throne of David.” David, apparently, because of God’s own choosing, will, in his supernatural state, also rule over the nation of Israel during the Millennial era.

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matthew 25:30).

The terrain of Jerusalem and of the whole world will supernaturally change in accordance with a masterful sweep of King Jesus’ hand. We are given a glimpse of those astonishing topographical and environmental changes prophesied to take place in that day. (Read Zechariah 14:4–9).

Like in Eden

Jesus will make the earth like it was in the time of the Garden of Eden. It will be a crime-free world for the most part. Anyone who does commit a crime will be dealt with immediately and from a righteous justice system that has perfect knowledge of all things involved in the crime.

Many prophecy students believe Church Age saints will be officers of the Supreme’s court of justice in the administration of King Jesus. As supernatural officers of the court, they will certainly be equipped to handle such a duty.

But, again, crime will be almost nonexistent compared to our present hour. Christ’s saints, both flesh-and-blood and supernatural ones, will doubtless have wonderfully creative things to do for those thousand years. Anticipating that time of glorious service should empower us for our Royal Ambassador service here on Earth!

The Second Advent will bring the glorious time on Earth the utopian dreamers have longed for throughout the centuries. It will be the Lord Jesus Christ, not the would-be masters of this fallen world, who will construct the new heavens and new earth.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

***Terry James REVELATIONS Trilogy ***

Terry James’ three novels in his eye-opening Revelations trilogy are now in a boxed set – ideal for Christmas gift-giving.

Although the novels are, of course, fictional accounts of these bizarre times—so near Christ’s call to believers in the Rapture—Terry’s decades of factual study and presentation of Bible prophecy ring true throughout its pages. His devotion to God’s truth, in every sense, makes his storytelling come alive with believability for the reader.

Revelations: The Complete Trilogy is now available in an attractive set for gift-giving or for personal use. This set is especially great as a gift for your young adults and those within your family circle.

Book 1: Revelations

Book 2: Michael

Book 3: Messiah

Note from the author: My prayerful hope is that, through these novels, the Holy Spirit will impart to readers’ spirits the truth these stories present. The world is full of distraction through entertainment of every sort that can take a person’s thoughts far from matters important to the Lord. Entertainment centered in truth from the Creator will, I prayerfully hope, through Holy Spirit intervention, capture readers’ curiosity—thus causing them to explore further what God the Heavenly Father has done for them through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I would appreciate your support in purchasing this boxed set to help spread God’s truth through fictional entertainment before the eyes of as many as possible. I am praying these novels make an impact on the souls who need Jesus.

—Terry James

To order your copy today, here is a link to the boxed set: http://geni.us/rnYRy