The Gospel According to Luke: Part 8 :: By Dr. Donald Whitchard

An Exposition

Luke 2:39-52: “The Child Who Knew His Destiny”

“And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the LORD, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth, and the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. When He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast, and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem and His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey, and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

“When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. It came about that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting amid the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. When they saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been seriously looking for You.’

“He said to them, ‘Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?’ They did not understand the statement which He had made to them, and He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them, and His mother treasured all these things in her heart, and Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:39-52, NASB).

In what few retail bookstores are left, there seems to always be in the Religion section a collection of works by authors and Biblical scholars who have made it a point of interest or speculation about what some intellectuals refer to as “the lost years of Jesus,” specifically the years between the events that are written in this passage from Luke 2 up to the start of His ministry at the age of thirty. Some writers with vivid imaginations have theorized that the young Jesus went on a pilgrimage to India and sat at the feet of gurus, or shamans, or varied teachers of spiritual wisdom and insight in order to clarify His mission from God as He interpreted it. Other writings present stories of Jesus’ childhood, where he was reported to make birds out of clay and bring them to life, or give life to a dead animal, or heal someone.

It seems that there are and have been opportunistic individuals ever since the end of the apostolic era in the first century and beyond who have bent over backwards in their varied attempts to discredit the account of Jesus’ life and work as recorded in the Gospels and render Him as just a good teacher, a moral example, a fanatical sage, a radical prophet of doom, a man who thought He was the Messiah, and a host of other tales of fiction that range from the ridiculous to those of outright devilish blasphemy.

In the Sovereign will of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit in writing this gospel, Luke saw fit to include one episode in the life of Jesus’ upbringing that was of primary relevance and importance. The period of time that Luke describes demonstrates that, at the age of twelve, He was fully aware of Who he was and what He had to accomplish in the coming years where He would be ministering and teaching, as well as to fulfill the mission of redemption for the sins of humanity, planned before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-12).

Luke also makes it clear in his account that Jesus was as much human as He was divine. He looked like every other Jewish child. There was no halo or supernatural glow around Him as He grew up. He didn’t behave like some mystic who stood out and above His peers. He lived as any other person did in that time, yet without sin.

As He grew up, He learned the trade of carpentry from Joseph and no doubt went with him on job sites, working with other skilled tradesmen on varied building projects. He probably helped Mary fix dinner for the family at times, played with His siblings, laughed at pranks that harmed no one and were in fun, played games with the other children of Nazareth when He was not at work, went to the local synagogue on the Sabbath, learned to read and write His native language of Aramaic, and learned the other languages of the region, such as Hebrew, Latin, and Greek for business and for conversation as the occasion called for it.

He read and memorized the Scriptures and learned the history of Israel from Joseph and the rabbis in the synagogues, and probably ran into Roman soldiers patrolling the region, but did not possess the disdain for them that His peers had towards them, seeing them as the enemies of God and their way of life.

The Scriptures also present that the grace of God was upon Him as He grew. He developed a special and unique relationship with His heavenly Father that was also intimate and personal. He merited favor with God and was under His divine protection. He remained obedient to both Mary and Joseph as well as towards God. This episode in the life of our LORD is singled out due to the significance of his age and what it means in terms of responsibility towards God and men.

At this time, Jesus was in the beginning stage of preparation in order to undergo the ritual that would be known later in contemporary Judaism as a bar mitzvah, or the time where a boy was seen as a man by His parents and peers and declared a “son of the Law,” meaning that when the time came, should he get married and have children, he would be responsible for teaching them the principles of God’s Law as written by Moses (Exodus 12:1-28; Deuteronomy 6:1-10).

In the ancient world, the concept of a “teenager” was not known. Responsibilities were placed upon boys who were now men under the Law. Marriages were arranged, and the young man was expected to have a trade or skill in order to provide for his family. It was also not unusual for young men to get married at the age of eighteen and young women by the age of fourteen or older. There was no room for indecisiveness, immaturity, or the shunning of expected duties by young people; and to be lazy and disobedient towards these expectations was punished by the town elders (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; Proverbs 20:20; 2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Once a year, all Jewish families went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover to sacrifice a lamb as a symbol for the remission of their sins. The temple was the only place where these sacrifices could occur, which were under the supervision of the High Priest, as well as the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Also posted within the confines of the temple area were men in charge of monetary exchange, where the regular currency of the drachma (Greek) or denarii (Roman) were traded for the acceptable currency of shekels for the temple offering. If you didn’t bring your own lamb for sacrifice, then the shekels could be used to purchase animals in the temple for a nominal fee as well as paying the obligatory temple tax (Matthew 17:24-28). It was nothing more than a money-making racket that Jesus would grow to hate and condemn (Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:13-22).

That would come later. Luke tells how, with the Passover celebration concluded, Jesus stayed behind in the temple, while his parents thought He was with the other young people in the caravan heading back to Nazareth. Mary and Joseph headed back to Jerusalem in order to look for their boy, whom they believed was lost and frightened among the crowds and dangerous streets.

After some time, it would have occurred to them that if their Son was preparing for the coming bar mitzvah, and the start of Jewish manhood, the obvious place where they could find Him would be the temple. There they found Him, sitting among the teachers of the Law and Prophets, listening and asking questions, demonstrating His keen knowledge of the Scriptures but also wanting to hear the interpretations and explanations of God’s Word from the elders as well.

Not only did Jesus know that He was being ushered into manhood and its responsibilities, but He was also aware of Who he was in terms of both His divine and human nature and the mission that He was to undergo at the appointed time. He knew that God was His Father, but also respected and obeyed the parental authority and direction of Mary and Joseph. The time would come when His parents knew that He was not only their child entrusted to them by the LORD, but that He was to be their Lord and Savior as well.

From this time on, Jesus continued to grow in Spirit and knowledge, learned the carpentry trade, and lived a normal, unassuming life in Nazareth. Then, in God’s perfect timing, His mission would commence when His cousin John undertook the role of the One crying in the wilderness, preparing the remnant hearts for the arrival of their Messiah, which will be explored in the next study.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com

 

Bible Prophecy & The Scripted Covid-19 Agenda :: By JD Farag

JD Farag explains what Bible Prophecy reveals about ID2020, Quantum Dot Tattoos, Bill Gates Global Vaccination & the very planned/scripted COVID-19 Agenda.

……

I sense that the Lord would have me to talk about how we may have very well passed the proverbial point of no return. I say that because it seems the world today has reached this critical point where there’s no turning back, with evil now in full swing. I have to confess, and I shared this on Thursday night, that as more information is coming out about this crisis and the evil being done under the banner of this crisis, my heart is very troubled.

The Lord reminded me of Noah’s day and what we’re told in Genesis 6:5-6, which states: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that [listen to this] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

It’s interesting because we’re told in the Gospels by the Savior Himself that the evil in Noah’s day would be like the evil in the last days. In Luke 17:26, Jesus said: “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”

It should be noted that “evil” is “live” backwards, and “devil” is “lived” backwards. I say that because I find that very telling in a world where evil is good and good is evil. I mean, my goodness, they’re putting hairdressers in jail and releasing sex offenders! It’s all backwards. Good is evil and evil is good. Isaiah 5:20 pronounces a curse on those who call evil good. Isaiah writes, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

You know, I was thinking about this particular verse, which is I’m sure familiar to most, and it kind of dawned on me and actually, in a way, answered a question for me. The question was, do these people really know that what they’re doing is evil? Like in Noah’s day, it was continually every thought that they had, every intention that they had, was only, always, continually evil all the time. I know that’s sort of a redundancy. I think that Isaiah answers this question of do they know. It’s my belief that they actually think that the evil they’re doing is for the good of humanity. They don’t realize that what they’re doing is evil because, to them, it’s good!

Lest one doubt that evil is on warp-speed, let me hasten to say that what’s taking place today has been in the works for many years. By the way, I use the phrase “warp speed” because of the recent implementation of “operation warp speed” to identify and implement a COVID-19 vaccine. What’s interesting to me and what I want to talk about today, is that much of what we see today seems to be scripted/planned.

Event 201

This last week, I revisited something I mentioned in a previous update called “Event 201” – actually, really “2 global 1” – some suggest its global 2021. It was an event that was held, in of all places, New York City on October 18 of last year, just weeks before this pandemic hit. Event “201” or “2 global 1” was a high-level pandemic exercise simulating a global pandemic, modeling what they called a “fictional coronavirus.” It was hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, John Hopkins University, and the World Economic Forum.

You can actually go online to the event 201 website and view the videos of this simulation. It’s really in the form of a roundtable discussion with all of these experts. They’re just basically going off a script in this simulation: What do we do in the event of a global pandemic with a fictional coronavirus?

You can watch these videos. There are several hours of footage of event 201 online. The video that I want to draw your attention to is segment 4, titled: “communications discussion.”

What follows are specific quotes that I literally transcribed verbatim by watching the video. This is what they said in this simulation on those videos concerning the controlling of the narrative. Here’s the first quote:

I think, as in previous conversations centered around management of information of public health needs, there needs to be a centralized response around the communications approach that can then be cascaded to informed advocates represented in the NGO communities [NGO is an acronym for nongovernmental organizations] and the medical professionals etc., centralized on an international basis because there needs to be a centralized depository of data facts and key messages.

Here’s another quote from a different attendee:

To add to it, maybe by saying that I think that one of the things we want to do is work with telecommunications companies to ensure that everyone has the kind of access to ensure communications that we are interested in providing because that’s going to be critical.

Here’s another quote, different attendee:

We can speak to them very clearly in a daily briefing. In this case, I can’t imagine any other institution other than the World Health Organization being the focal point.

Here’s another quote; this one’s very interesting; read very carefully:

I think a complementary tactic is to tap faith-based organizations and civil society and other institutions to recruit them also to basically almost at a grassroots level to basically have the integrity.

Whoa. What? In other words, to lend creed to what we’re going to do, we need to recruit the faith-based community because that’s going to add credibility/integrity.

Here’s another quote; this is where it gets really interesting:

The social media platforms, there’s an opportunity to understand who it is that’s a susceptible forum to misinformation.

Lastly:

We need to stop social media from creating huge damage, and we should use it and get it on our side, and we should work together with them and try to avoid this misinformation.

Social Media Censorship

I suppose it should come as no surprise CNBC would report that Facebook will start warning people who “like or react to fake coronavirus news.” It actually gets even worse than that. I was reading a report just released this last week that, apparently, they (Facebook) have a “Supreme Court” of sorts consisting of 20 people that constantly police all of the posts on that platform.

On Wednesday, Breitbart published a report that “Twitter will now warn you if you are about to post wrongthink.” Wrongthink?! Oh, you want to control what I think?! Yeah. So, if I post anything that is wrong in the way you think, that’s “wrongthink”? So, right can be wrong and wrong can be right? Yes, because good is evil and evil is good. Again, it’s all scripted, and it gets worse….

World Economic Forum

As I mentioned at the beginning, event 201 was also hosted by the World Economic Forum who has a very scripted and detailed website. If you go on the World Economic Forum website to this page, which I’ve got to tell you, I have never seen anything like it. It is so in-depth. I point out and draw your attention to it because it seems that they already had a global plan in place.

This is evidenced by the screenshot pictured. This is the COVID-19 page. Just one page of I don’t know how many links. You could literally spend endless hours on this website, going through all of these links. This is the COVID-19 page with links to everything and anything you could possibly imagine.

Links like: “finding a vaccine” and “the media’s role during COVID-19.” When you select that one, more links light up, like, get this, “global governance,” and “internet governance.”

Here is the “digital identity link,” and it has links to 5G technology. For those of you who are unfamiliar with blockchain technology, it has to do with cryptocurrency/digital currency.

Here is the “finding a vaccine” link, which has numerous links to things like, get this, “climate change” and LGBT “inclusion” of all things. Here’s a quote from this page:

Most experts have expressed a belief that it will be at least a year before an effective vaccine can be offered to the public.

Quantum Dot Tattoo & Cryptocurrency

I don’t want to get too deep into this, but I think it’s incumbent upon me to at least comment on one more link. It is the Biotechnology link. The reason being is that it details everything we’ve been talking about over the last month concerning said vaccine, using this technology known as “body activity data” by way of a biocompatible near-infrared “quantum dot tattoo” that is delivered to the skin by microneedle patches to record vaccination. Not only will it identify who’s been vaccinated (and who’s not, by the way), it will also be your “digital ID.” Many believe this is ID 2020 which is already in place. Having an ID, record, or “mark.”

I was just talking about this; I went into a store this last week, here in Hawaii, and you cannot go into certain stores and buy anything unless you have a mask on. So, I’m in the store wearing my mask. I shouldn’t be wearing a mask; I look like a terrorist, so I had my wife make me an Aloha, pineapples and palm tree mask (It still didn’t work), but you have to have a mask to go into that store and buy anything. So, I’m in the store with my mask, and I’m thinking to myself: How interesting! Today it’s a mask, but soon, the Bible tells us, it won’t be a M A S K; it’ll be a M A R K. If you want to buy, you want to sell, you want to live, you’ve got to have a mark. Right now, it’s almost like preconditioning. You have to have a mask.

This “ID 2020,” this “biocompatible quantum dot tattoo,” is going to be that which documents you and IDs you so that you can have access to basic goods and services.

Last week – this was interesting, you can’t make this stuff up – a number of people sent me information on “Luciferase.” I don’t know how to pronounce it, but to me it looks a lot like “Lucifer-erase” or if you prefer, “Lucifer-race.” If you want, we’ll just for short call it “Lucifer.”

Pictured here is the National Center for Biotechnology (NIH) information webpage about creating “self-illuminating quantum dot conjugates.” It seems that this is how the tattoo, or the “mark,” is actually going to be powered. Listen to this quote from the abstract:

These self-illuminating quantum dot conjugates can be prepared by coupling of commercially available carboxylate-presenting quantum dots to the light-emitting protein Renilla luciferase [or Lucifer for short].

That is what gives it power, gives it light. Interesting…

By the way, we’ve talked about this as well; Bill Gates has a patent application pending which someone assigned the number “WO2020060606.” That is not a patent number. We have an online member that emailed me (a patent attorney). She told me that’s not an official patent number, which makes it even more interesting, because what that means is somebody assigned that number to this patent-pending application.

So, what is this patent application, pray tell? Well, it is described as a “cryptocurrency system using body activity data.”

For those of you that are familiar with cryptocurrency, there’s actually this need to do “data mining,” mining, which is the key when it comes to cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency, of course, a digital economy using blockchain technology to track everyone’s currency. You can buy and sell with this cryptocurrency.

Here’s something else I just learned of yesterday, and I want to put it out for you to vet. I’m just going to put this out there; it’s House Resolution 6666. It’s a bill “To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to conduct diagnostic testing for COVID–19, and related activities such as contact tracing, through mobile health units and, [listen] as necessary, at individuals’ residences, and for other purposes.”

Now, as I understand it, the concern is that this grants Health and Human Services access to individuals at their residences in their homes for the purpose of testing and quarantine.

Vaccine & The Mark of The Beast

By the way, it is interesting to note something in the original language of the Greek New Testament. In Revelation 13, where we have the prophecy about how the antichrist will “force” everyone, great and small, rich and poor alike to take this mark (without which they will not be able to buy or sell), in the original language the word “mark” is where we get our English word for “tattoo.”

It’s my belief that this vaccine, with all its biotechnology and tracking capabilities, this quantum dot tattoo, means the Revelation 13 technology is already here. I would submit that this will ultimately and eventually become the mark of the beast.

Now, we have a problem. The problem is, they’re continuing the narrative and the messaging that we cannot return to life as usual until everyone receives a vaccine. This has been said by many, chief of whom is Bill Gates himself, who has said repeatedly (you can see the interviews online) that we cannot return to normal until everyone has been vaccinated.

This is why I truly believe we’ve passed the aforementioned point of no return, by virtue of the facts, as we know them.

On Monday, U.S. News and World Report published an article titled: “Many Vaccine Skeptics Plan to Refuse a COVID-19 Vaccine, study suggests.” Here’s why that could be a big problem (them refusing it being the big problem): in it, they say:

The availability of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus will likely play a key role in determining when Americans can return to life as usual.

The article goes on to address what the big problem is; and listen to what they say:

According to some estimates, about one-fifth to two-fifths of Americans express reservations about vaccine safety.

I’ll add, rightfully so. Quoting again, here’s the big problem as they see it:

If most of these individuals forego receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, they could potentially jeopardize the recovery process.

Dare I say that those who refuse will be forced. It’s all under the banner of ‘the good of a whole. The whole of humanity.’ You can’t go back to work. You can’t go to buy and sell until you have this vaccine; and so it will be, again, forced.

I would suggest that the bigger problem with a vaccine likely playing a pivotal role in determining when Americans can return to life as usual has to do with the fear of a “mega famine.”

According to Al Jazeera on Thursday, the UN is warning: “What we are facing now is a double pandemic of famines that could impact us at [get this] Biblical proportions.”

This is al Jazeera that we’re talking about! From the Middle East! And they are saying that this “double pandemic,” not only this plague (the pandemic) but also famine, is of Biblical proportions… Well, you want to talk about Biblical proportions (I concur, by the way), read Revelation 9:20-21. John, writing by the Holy Spirit, says:

Revelation 9:20-21 KJV – “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries [hang on to that word, I want to come back to it], nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”

In other words, during the seven-year Tribulation, when the judgment of God, the wrath of God, is poured out on a Christ-rejecting world, we’re told that one-fourth of the population of earth will be killed. One-fourth! Then here, John says of those that were not killed by these plagues, some would still not repent of their “sorceries.” Now, this is an intriguing word.

In the original language of the Greek New Testament, the word “sorceries” is translated “pharmakeia” from where we get our English word for “pharmacy/pharmaceuticals.” That seems kind of strange….

Well, let’s look at Revelation 18:23; it might fill in a couple of blanks:

Revelation 18:23 KJV – “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants [speaking of Babylon] were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries [there this word is again, “pharmakeia”] were all nations deceived.”

Stop right there. In other words, something to do with pharmaceutical sorcery was a deception because, by this, all the nations were deceived.

I should probably say this, because I know I’ve been asked this; maybe you’re asking yourself, “Oh my goodness! What happens if I can’t go back to my job unless I receive a vaccine?” I want to encourage you and assure you that, as a Christian, you will not be put in this position. The reason why, as a Christian, you will not be put in this position is because you won’t be here. The reason why you won’t be here is because the Rapture of the Church absolutely has to happen before the seven-year Tribulation.

Last week I made a comment; I said, “This is no time to be wishy-washy about the sound doctrine of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.” One comment from an online member, said, “I’m not ‘wishy-washy’; I’m ‘watchy-watchy.’” I kind of like that!

I mention that not to be clever or cute. I say that because if there was ever a time to be solid and sound doctrinally, with the sound doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, it’s now. Especially now because this is what’s coming. If this is what’s coming and, as a Christian, I know that I’m not going to be here when it does come, that changes everything; that’s a game-changer.

So something is coming by way of a pharmaceutical “Pharmacia,” that will be very deceptive, and I will add according to Revelation 16:2, it will also be very “poisonous” (I’m using that word for a reason, as you’re going to see here in a moment). Listen to Revelation 16:2:

Revelation 16:2 KJV – “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”

If by God’s grace you’re reading this article, the Rapture has already happened, and you’re in the seven-year Tribulation, know that this mark will come associated with the worship of an image (which I believe is an A.I. image, artificial intelligence image of the Beast, the Antichrist). It will be very specific. It’s not going to be that you are going to your pharmacy and “oh my goodness! I just accidentally got the mark!” It’s not going to be like that. It’s going to be very obvious, for lack of a better word, because it is associated with the worship of the image of the beast.

This is what’s interesting; once a person takes the mark, they have sealed their fate. There is some discussion as to how this vaccine (currently being worked on) actually has the potential to change your DNA. We are made in God’s image, and you accept something that changes that, you are doomed for all eternity. That’s it.

The reason I wanted to talk about Revelation 16:2 is because it seems to indicate that there’s a reaction or a very serious infection that takes place on those who had received this mark/vaccination.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was kicked out of India. Why? Because they were vaccinating young girls; and if those girls didn’t die, they were either sterilized, paralyzed or both. There are numerous lawsuits against the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because of their vaccines on human beings in third-world countries. All under the banner of “doing good.”

I’ve heard some pretty high numbers as to people that are paralyzed because of these vaccines. Their lives physically were forever altered and changed, and they were severely damaged physically, medically, because of this. It makes sense that (as in Revelation 16:2) there could be such a reaction, that festering sores break out on the people who had the mark.

The Good News

Now some of you might be thinking to yourself, “Pastor JD, you’re scaring me!” Well, I’ve often said, you’ll forgive me for saying it this way: I’d rather scare the hell out of you and the heaven into you than flatter you into hell. I will put it another way; I’d rather scare you into heaven than flatter you into hell.

You might be reading this article, and it’s no accident that you’re reading this, by the way, and it’s no accident that you’re still reading this article. God, I believe, is speaking to you right now.

I want to say to you, yes, this is bad news, but here’s some good news: Yes, this is evil, but God as only He can, takes that which is meant for evil and works it for good. Only God could do that.

The Lord reminded me of Psalm 76:10. I want to share this with you. It is, to me, one of the most profound truths in all of the Bible because it speaks to this very dynamic, this very truth. Here’s the truth, Psalm 76:10 says:

Psalm 76:10 KJV – “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.”

In other words, even the wrath of man will praise God! God could take the wrath of man and bring glory to Himself! He could take the evil of man and bring praise to Himself! I looked up the original Hebrew word for “wrath,” and it carries with it the idea of heat, poison, venom and rage. To me, I think that says it all. God can take the wrath of man, the poison of man, the evil of man, the plans of man, and as only He can, He can make them to praise Him.

I think about Genesis 50:20 where Joseph has just revealed his identity to his brothers. He must have looked very different, of course; it had been many years. His brothers didn’t even recognize him. They have no idea that this man standing in front of them was their brother Joseph that they sold into slavery and left for dead.

Finally, when Joseph can’t take it anymore, he reveals his identity to his brothers, they fall to pieces in fear, and rightfully so. He (Joseph) is the most powerful man in the world, save Pharaoh. All he would have had to do is snap his fingers, and it would have been off with their heads in a second! But Joseph didn’t do that. He says to them “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God,” … I love those two words because it changes the complexion of everything, “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

I shared this before. I’ll share it again. I hope you don’t tire of me sharing it, but I am. Please don’t misunderstand me when I say this, but I am so thankful for this crisis because of what God is doing already, heretofore has done, and I believe with whatever time we have remaining will continue to do, namely the Salvation of many. I don’t think we have any idea how many people we’re going to see in heaven that came to Christ because of this.

Well, that was some good news. I’ve got some “gooder” news (I know gooder is not a word; don’t email me). I’ve got some gooder news. You know, the “badder” the bad news is, the “gooder” the good news will be.

This is bad news, yes, but here’s the good news: Jesus is coming very soon, soon and very soon, to Rapture us, take us out of this evil world that is waxing more evil. Seemingly, I used to say by the day; I almost now need to say by the hour, it waxes more and more evil.

We’ve been doing weekly prophecy updates for over 14 years, with the exception of Resurrection Sunday and Christmas. Every week, we have been talking about the Soon Return of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the good news of Salvation.

Let me say it, and you’ll forgive the oversimplification, but the only hope, the only answer, is Jesus. That is the only answer. The only hope that you have is Jesus. If I’ve done nothing else or do nothing else but get you to Jesus as quickly as I can, then I’ve done my job. He’s the only answer. He’s our only hope for this world.

ABC’s Of Salvation

We started doing these “ABCs of Salvation.” It’s just a simple explanation of Salvation; it’s meant in no way to insult anybody’s intelligence. It’s just a child-like (not child-ish) simple explanation of how to be saved, and that’s what I want to share with you today.

Now there are possibly two groups of people reading: One group, you already know the Lord. Praise the Lord! Another group, you have never called on the name of the Lord to be saved. I would implore you; today is the day of Salvation. If you just give me a little bit longer, I’ll explain how to be saved by way of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is the good news that Jesus came the first time, He was crucified, buried, rose again on the third day, and He’s coming back again one day.

Here’s the A: The “A” is for admit or acknowledge that you’ve sinned, that you need the Savior.

Romans 3:10 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:23 tells us why; it’s because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 packages, for lack of a better way of saying it, the bad news first with the good news. What’s the bad news? Oh, there’s a penalty for our sin, “the wages of sin is death…” It’s the death penalty.

That’s the bad news. We’ve all been sentenced to eternal death because of sin. Here’s the good news: “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” It’s a gift that is given. He paid for it on that cross. He paid in full with His life. It cost Him everything to purchase, redeem us and offer us the gift of eternal life. Isn’t that true, it’s not a gift if you pay for it? It’s a gift if somebody else pays for it and gives it to you, gifts it to you. It’s the gift of gifts. That’s the A.

Here’s the B: The “B” is for Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord.

As Romans 10:9-10 says, if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will (keyword) be saved. “Will.” Not “could,” not “should,” not “might” – no, the jury is no longer out, the verdict is in, it is finished. You will be saved. The debt has been paid.

Here’s the C: Lastly, the “C” is for Call upon the name of the Lord or Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.

As Romans 10:9-10 also says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved,” and here’s why: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Then Romans 10:13, lastly, says, all who call upon the name of the Lord will [there it is again] will be saved.