During these uncertain and trying times that are now suddenly upon us, everyone all around the globe is looking for hope. Hope has become a “catch all” word now of expression in all languages and cultures regarding the Coved 19-virus affecting humanity. We definitely have our thoughts in what this might be, along with how and why it has come in our time.

People are looking for answers from their “god” or faith in how to get through this global scourge so life can get back to normal, whatever that may be. In our Christian faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we, His saints, are trusting in what God’s Holy Word speaks, the promises of “Hope” that comfort us from the Bible. God’s got this; this didn’t catch Him by surprise. His will is being carried out for His purpose.

Some of us believers are looking for the Rapture that Paul spoke of that would take us out of this earth to be with him. These scriptures could be fulfilled at any time (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). That is our “present Hope”; we have been looking for that Glorious event long before the virus came. My belief, along with other Saints, is that we are in the beginning of the prophetic end-time events Jesus described in the beginning of Matthew chapter 24.

But let’s look at the most glorious event that we should be truly thinking of that will come upon the whole world one day (or night), which is the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ at His “Second Coming” at the end of the 7-year Tribulation period. This is in the “Alleluia Chapter” I titled. This is spoken primarily in the book of Revelation, the last book in the Holy Bible. I love the commentary response given in Chapter 1; 7-8 from the ESV Study Bible: “Jesus is the beginning of history (the Creator) and also the goal for whom all things are made (all history is moving toward glorifying him).” The entire world, whether day or night, depending where a person lives, will witness this. There are no words for anyone to describe this besides Glorious.

The main theme in the Bible is the Second Coming of the Lord to literally reign from His Throne in Jerusalem, Israel, for 1,000 years.

Not only will we as believers {past, present, and future} reign with Him, but we are coming back “with Him” as spoken in chapter 19 in the book. I believe this is one of the most exciting chapters in God’s Word. Let’s look at why I titled this article the way I did.

First, we have to understand one primary theological fact that is total truth that cannot be changed.  God’s Word is from the beginning of all things, and will remain forever, no matter what anyone thinks. Psalms 119:89, “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” Believe and trust in it. We live by the Word. When we as believers get to Glory, His Word will always be there with us.

Chapter 19 shows the details after the Lord has chained Satan and destroyed his earthly followers at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period from chapter 19. The Lord Jesus is coming to reign on the earth in His new earthly Kingdom with peace, truth, and justice (Zechariah 14, Rev. 20:1-3).

We will be singing “Alleluia” as we do now in songs. This signifies “Praise ye Jah.” Alleluia, without the initial H is a misspelling. In the first six verses of Revelation chapter 19, Alleluia is mentioned 4 times; the Heavenly Hosts are praising God.

Along with this, the marriage of the Lamb, the second coming of Christ in glory, the battle of Armageddon, and the doom of the Beast and False Prophet are mentioned. This chapter is probably the most inspiring and encouraging chapter in the entire Bible.

The first half of this magnificent chapter shows “Praise and Glory,” with the last part showing gloom and doom for the worldly inhabitants that have survived the seven years. They continue to deny Jesus as Lord (except the many Saints that have not taken the Mark of the antichrist system and will be called Tribulation Saints), even after all the judgments they have gone through. What’s great about this is that we, the Saints, will be coming back with the Lord, following Him on white horses, clothed in white linen, white and clean (verse 14). This shows that we have been made righteous like Yeshua (Hebrew), and we have our new “incorruptible” bodies that will last forever. Jesus will then slay the wicked and toss the Beast and False Prophet into the lake of fire (verse 20).

We should be praising the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (verse 16) even now, because we serve an awesome and amazing Lord. We are singing and shouting Alleluia now because we know our Saviour lives and He is our Redeemer. He alone is our Hope and eternal life. Read this chapter and be inspired and lifted up.

Read the last three chapters to see what happens, along with God giving us a little glimpse of what Heaven will be like. *Warning: You don’t want to be part of the group mentioned in chapter 20:11-15. Those are the souls that have denied God and His Son Yeshua, from the beginning of time to the end.

If you haven’t placed your trust and hope in Jesus Christ our Lord, you can do that now, no matter where you are at. Call out to him while you still have time. Isaiah 55:6, “Seek ye the lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.”

Romans 10: 9-10, “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” What the Apostle Paul is saying here is that there are no secret disciples.

We don’t know what may be coming next on this earth, but you should place your faith in Christ now, and be secure in His salvation; there is no other person or way. A person can’t earn it, buy it, or accumulate good works for eternity with the Lord; it’s a free gift. All you have to do is accept it by Faith.

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Simple, isn’t it?

Then you can go spreading the good news that Jesus is Lord of all and He gave you eternal life with Him. Wouldn’t that be a great comfort and peace to all people now in these extreme times everyone is going through? Look at the “Hope” you could give them where you live by sharing this Gospel of salvation. You would be God’s Ambassador where others wouldn’t or couldn’t.

Then you could start shouting and singing ALLELIUA!

Jesus is my King, and He is the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

All emphasis is mine.

All Scripture is from the King James Bible.

Peace and Blessings,

Clay

Clay02789@att.net

Experience in Rio de Janeiro, 2010

“Do not be afraid, Abraham. I am your shied and your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1).

The Song of Moses
“How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had given them up? Indeed their rock is not like our Rock, Even our enemies themselves judge this. For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter” (Deuteronomy 32:30-32).

Three days ago, while sitting at the top of our apartment building rooftop contemplating the magnificent view of the mountains towering over the bay of Rio de Janeiro, my eyes stopped at a rock outcropping that I never noticed before.

Seen from afar, it looked to me as if the huge rock near the top had been forced out of the mountain, its distinct contours outlining the shape of a shield.

See photos at https://thelightseed.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-rock-of-our-faith.html?fbclid=IwAR3IgTiiRddbpfliKN6rsuJbpC4InffUKiN5POWzQmRFcnkcEz0_QIxwpi4

Interestingly enough, I had never noticed it even after spending some time meditating on the Scriptures on the rooftop before, during the 3 weeks since our arrival here.

Besides the adjustment expected from being in new surroundings, the spiritual battle has been intense, especially with Mírian having to train at a new job, while my life here has been quiet and gratifying.

Needless to say, praying for protection efforts have been redoubling. The Lord has answered with an increase in his grace over the situation as he is orchestrating the circumstances in our lives. We have seen the hand of God moving in our family and heard his responses in ways that are so encouraging as we witness his faithfulness and his ever-present lovingkindness and tender loving care in our lives.

The morning this happened, we had been praying for the edge of protection to be around Mírian and that her faith would be strong against the schemes of the enemy.

As I was looking more closely at the shield shape, the Lord reminded me of the covenant with Abraham and his words when the Lord appeared to him in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abraham. I am your shied and your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1).

I am not one given to seeking signs, but the Lord at times shows me visuals and then confirms it for me through the Scriptures and other witnesses. We all know the various verses relating to faith in the Old and the New Testament. This, however, was directly related to fear that Mírian was feeling. To me, this was clear; we are to raise our shield of faith against the enemy’s flaming arrows as a part of our spiritual armor.

But, in looking at the mountain, two things seem to be relevant and underline the relevancy of the situation. The shield formation was taken out of but still very much attached to the mountain, which is to say that our faith depends on being connected to the Rock of our faith, namely our Lord Jesus through the communion with the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, the faith shield was near the top of the mountain which, to me, means that the victory was close but that more efforts and cooperation on our part were necessary to reach the top of the mountain.

Another component of that scripture is that the reward of faith comes after having exercised the faith that God requires in our daily walk. Isaiah talks in chapter 40:9-11 about not being afraid and looking at the coming of the Lord in the last days:

“Lift up your voice with a shout, Do not be afraid. See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

Hebrews 10:35-38 says basically the same thing, adding the need for perseverance in doing the will of God:

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”

And, finally, on the last page of the Book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus himself reiterates His promise in Revelation 22:12:

“Behold, I am coming soon, my reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”

Since the Word says that a matter shall be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses, three more confirmations with more explicit details came from our family who had been praying fervently about our present situation.

I feel so grateful and greatly encouraged that when our Lord gives us instructions and shows us the way, in response to our prayers, He also empowers us and accompanies us, even though sometimes we get discouraged and temporarily experience fear and doubts that we are in the will of God. This is why we need to exercise the faith that He provides when we ask Him and to receive the encouragement that we are on our way to the victory that he has promised us and that He already gained for us at the cross.

Jean-Louis

https://thelightseed.blogspot.com