In many of my latest articles we have discussed death, and how we must live in these the final days of this world. We have also discussed why the world follows the line of thought that we presently see. We have also discussed the “wages of sin,” the single greatest reason for all the situations that have taken place recently.

Many times we have read in the Old Testament how God had to wrangle the Israelites into shape and just how often they fell into sin over and over again. We also saw, that our Lord and Savior, our God in heaven is a truly loving God and yet, at the same time, is just, beyond our comprehension. We have needed to see that this is a difficult balance for us to consider, yet for God, it is simple. It is how HE is, today, tomorrow and into the future. There is a problem that needs touching on, though it is never one we are able to fully appreciate.

Ezekiel 3:16-19:

“And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word of my mouth, and give them warning from me.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

Reading the previous verses simply means that not only are we to speak of the Rapture and Tribulation to come, we must also give the unsaved a way out, as far as information. I believe in my heart that this is what the Lord expects of us, as we “rightly divide” the Word of truth.

How are they to know what is right and what is wrong, according to the Lord, if they never know, if they are never taught, if they never have any place to go to find this information? It is at that point that I believe we have failed in our commitment to the Great Commission. It is this verse that speaks to me, that if I fail, if I resist the research, if I forget what is most important in life, I will then be accountable for the blood on my hands. I will be accountable of this infraction by the very Person, the God for us all, that I claim to love and honor.

In my estimation, this is a crucial area in ministry! It is exactly the area we must look to when we remark about those preaching anything other than the salvation in the blood of Jesus Christ. My education, my life in medicine produced a “linear thinking.” There is the right way and there is the way mired with mistakes. Either way, a patient suffers. Someone else suffers, for my inability to understand the needs and approach them with sound therapy, proven therapy and in the medical field we like to say it is “empirical.”

Obviously, this means we must take the route that has worked in the past, with the ideas that new information will advance the therapy to provide a better quality of life. In the Bible, this thinking is the “foundation” needed for a life for Christ, because the days are not getting better, they are getting worse than any time before.

We cannot look at the present drought in this country without noting who will be affected. We must note that the prices of “foodstuffs” will increase. It is already taking place and in the interim people of lesser means will suffer the most. This verse is indeed prophetic and real today.

“And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (Revelation 6:6).

Are you still asking if the Bible is still relevant today? Oddly enough, this measurement is the daily requirements of a soldier, back in those days of the Bible. Yet we are still able to glean information, as to what these days ahead will be like. Few are willing to accept that “inflation” is worthless, when lives are at stake, when homes and families are in jeopardy. Food is no longer cheap and yet, the day is coming where food will cost an entire days wages! If the Bible is the Word of God, if prophecy is indeed 100% accurate thus far, then we are in for one really difficult ride here on earth. For some that ride has already begun, their houses foreclosed on, forced to live in their vehicles, forced to depend on others for sustenance.

I believe we would be foolish to look at these things in any other way, than the way they are right now. We must keep the Word of God fresh and in the front of our minds, we must talk about these things to come and be ready. Be forewarned. When the Rapture does take place, those left behind will not only be mesmerized by that event, they will be ushered into a most difficult period of time, the likes that have never been seen before.

If we still have loved ones here on earth, we still need to guide them and give them the benefit of our wisdom and discernment from the Lord─the Word of God. They will be searching desperately and decisively for anything that will help them, not only to understand what they just witnessed but how they might be helped as the world hurtles itself into chaos and death.

They will be looking for answers and seeking advice! And it will be heartbreaking to think the cost they will endure for missing the Rapture. To be honest here, I believe the word “desperation” will pale in light of their true situation. What may be worse than anything is the knowledge that they were told of this before the Rapture. It will be a day of true “biblical proportions” when they realize that they are awake now, but were sleeping before.

It is a picture we wish we could erase from our minds, but that will never happen until we are with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That pain in our hearts will cease to exist when we hear our Lord say, “Come up hither!” We must definitely talk with everyone about the Rapture and at the same time we must be diligent to express the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It must be noted: You cannot have one without the other. They are intertwined, as one Gospel, Jesus Christ.

To simplify, it is triune as well, there is a beginning, when we were created, there is a median (middle) our particular lives and then there is the end. The “end of times” is where we are right now, the last days! This is an entire story, it is the Bible, the Holy Word of God and everyone should have an opportunity to hear and read it and thus, make a decision for Christ.

It is this that plagues me so. To understand the story, one must read it in it’s entirety and yet how many do and how many have not? I am not naive, to think everyone that reads the Word of God, will understand it or that everyone will be willing to read it, the Bible is clear on this. That is a very sad thing to understand! It breaks my heart! I can’t even begin to understand the heartache that our Lord suffers, in knowing this.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:1-3, emphasis added).

As we near the “end” of this world what should be our thoughts? Should we be more concerned with ourselves, even though we know, we are heaven bound? We MUST be concerned with those that are already dead in their trespasses and sin. We must utilize every word, every moment, in meeting the needs of a fallen world, destined for Hell Fire!

The ONLY answer is found in the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary! THIS is our “reasonable service” to a God that loves us and died for us, and waits for all of us to come to HIM, leaving none behind.

We know from the Word of God, the entirety of this world will not accept this! They believe the “price” for salvation by Jesus Christ, is too high a price to pay. They love their sin. We are to give out that information about Jesus Christ without worrying what will happen to us! Is it not enough for us to acknowledge that we are heaven bound? We have already been saved, yet, what of them??

Ahh…the Morning comes! It’s 1958. The bright sunshine and birds are singing, the grass is definitely green and our hearts fly here and there, we feel great, we rested well and we are 100% renewed. It’s Sunday morning and we get ready for Church and Sunday School, we embrace the Lord and begin with praying in our hearts and “Thanking the Lord for such a wonderful day”! We walk into the Sanctuary, all the while smiling and softly speaking with those we know and even the Church is looking remarkable, this fine morning. We sing a couple of Hymns and approach the Alter of God in Humility through Prayer and then the Sermon is to begin. Now for just a moment, lets reflect for a moment, that I am talking about a Church in the Southern USA, which I know is a little different than our Counterparts else-where. So remind yourself of this, now and then as you read. Now to the Sermon.

“God’s Word is infallible, it is absolute Truth and Wisdom! Therefore anything your read in God’s Word, must be absolute Truth and you must take this Word of God into your Hearts and meditate on it, believing it and letting it work through your life, everyday! You CAN NOT be a Born-Again Christian, a True Follower of Jesus Christ if that is not first in your life! You CAN NOT expect to see Heaven unless you keep the Word of God, fully centered in everything you do everyday of your life! You MUST be washed in the Blood of Jesus Christ, you MUST bring your SIN to the Cross of Jesus Christ and Leave it there! You MUST seek Jesus Christ at every turn of your life, any decision, any idea you may have, because the road to Heaven is narrow! My Brothers and Sisters, there is no other way to Heaven! It says in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” That is straight from the Word of God! It is to Be Believed, without question, it is from the mouth of God! If you ever stop for one moment and you look around yourself and you see that you are on a very wide road through life, then for your Soul’s sake GET OFF IT!! I don’t care what others tell you, I don’t care if they say your square or a geek or even stupid, GET OFF IT!!! Call Jesus Christ by name, tell Him your a sinner and you need Him to save you, because if you don’t you are headed for Hell Eternal!!!”

Back in the day, probably the 50’s and the 60’s, the pastor would be banging on the Pulpit, screaming at the top of his lungs, as he brought the Word of Truth! Sweat would be rolling down his face in big droplets and he would be visibly shaking. The only other place I heard sermons like these, was at the Tent Revivals with my Mom and Dad when I was a kid. Scary at first, yet, in time you began to expect it and for some, they would relish it. Back then they used to call this “The Old-Time religion”. Others used to call it the “Hell-fire and Damnation” religion. But I have to tell ya, it was relevant back then and is still relevant today, we see few of these Preachers today though.

“That is the sermon for this morning! Hell’s fire, it’s damnation, it’s finality, it’s endless pain and suffering the likes you could never imagine in a million years! Yet there is one thing we have today, that will NOT exist in Hell and that my Friends is HOPE! Hope will no longer exist for you in Hell. You had the opportunity of Hope when you were alive, yet for whatever reason, you ignored it! It was your choice, it was your decision, you did this all by yourself, no one helped you, no one held your hand, YOU…TURNED YOUR BACK ON JESUS CHRIST…ALL BY YOURSELF!!! YOU are responsible for YOU being in Hell and YOU get to think on this for all Eternity! As your face slides from your skull, as your eyes melt and fall out, as you scream in pain and utter agony, you get to remember…THIS is your choice!!” And the Pastor would slam his Bible down on the pulpit, the Microphone resonating and amplifying the BOOM! “Why?! WHY?!?! Would YOU choose this existence for yourself?! Do you not understand the Written English language?! You never got through school, you don’t know how to read?! THEN FIND SOMEONE TO READ IT TO YOU!! Get on your knees…BEG to be forgiven of your sin…ask Jesus to come into your heart and make YOU clean once again! Don’t give up, don’t give in to Sin, don’t go away angry!! Go away SAVED…through Jesus Christ and HIS Blood on the Tree!!” Again there would be the BOOM through the microphone, everyone would be sitting up straight, as if they were on a Roller-Coaster! Every eye would be fixed on the Pastor as he would take a drink of water and mop his brow.

“What can I say?! WHAT…MUST I do, to get you people to understand, this is the TRUTH!! This is straight from the Mouth of God…to YOUR ears…HELL isn’t half full!! And if you don’t decide for yourself to follow Jesus Christ and be washed clean in His blood from the Cross…YOUR GOING TO HELL!!! In Hell, there is no day or night, there are no calenders, no holidays, no Christmas or Thanksgiving!! There are NO DAYS OFF for anyone!! You burn!! You Fry!! YOU sizzle and pop and burn you do!! And just when you think it’s all over, you start this all over again!!! DAY IN AND DAY OUT! THERE IS NO REST!! Not so much as a single drop of cool, refreshing, clean tasting, water! You know how it is, when it’s hot here in the south and you, you walk out into the fields and the dry dust hits you in the face and you turn your face away from the wind. Your mouth instantly becomes dry and you can taste the dirt and the grit in your teeth! Sweat begins to roll down your face, leaving tracks in the accumulated dust, until it settles on your neck. You think to yourself, Lord…it’s so hot! All of a sudden the water from the garden hose, doesn’t seem so bad, actually it sounds refreshing. So off to house you head and as you look around, all across the fields, you watch as the heat rises and waffles through the air, distorting everything behind it. You finally reach to house and the garden hose, you turn it on and the sparkling fluid rushes out and you taste the sweet, clean and cool water. The you take the hose, bowing your head and you let the water rush over your head. The dirt and dust rushing away, the heat of your head rushes away as well and suddenly you feel renewed and you thank the Lord for the water! HELL IS WORSE, FAR WORSE!! AND THERE IS NO END TO IT…EVER!!! Let’s bow our heads in Prayer.”

Boy, what a roller-coaster ride this has been, right? You look at your watch and it’s been 28 minutes and for just a second, you feel the need to run, run far, far away, never looking back! There were all the pauses, the drink of water, mopping his face, the occasional apology for the sweat and yet the ceiling fans would be at full tilt. The every-so-often re-reading of the Scriptures, the Call to the Alter, at every turn, the feeling of the congregation was quiet, solemn and reverent. The Hymns were “old-school”, but so greatly Loved and sang with pride and adoration for the Lord of Heaven. I have even been to a church where the children were in a totally different room, the adults were segregated as well, men on one side and women on the other, but remember this was 1958.

I am by no means, ridiculing those days or those sermons. In many ways, I wish those days and those Pastors were still around, those people were not afraid to stand up for what they KNEW was right! If it was written in the Bible, then God definitely said it! They believed it with all their hearts and they would never let go of it for one second or one day. How different this world is today, how accepting people are of whatever “Feels Good” to them. For that feeling, they are so willing to distort the very Word of God! And why is it this way?! Because we have learned to be “Tolerant”! Oh How wonderful of us. We must tolerate the Homosexuals, the Murders and thieves among us. “They didn’t really mean it, they were high or drunk and well, you know, it just wasn’t their fault. They may have been brought up that way, you know, by cruel parents that didn’t care for them.!” And the list will go on and on, without end, and do you for one second truly believe them? Everyone KNOWS the difference between what is RIGHT and what is WRONG! To believe otherwise is pure hog-wash and you know it!
Some people even think, there is an excuse for not believing the Bible, they simply can’t understand what it says. I tell them, that they don’t follow Jesus Christ in sincerity, with a whole heart, they have simply made sounds with their mouth, that resemble they are a True Follower, but that they haven’t given their lives over to Jesus Christ. There are some, that are sitting right there next to you in Church, have been there for years, they know the Hymns and they know when to yell “Amen”. Yet Jesus Christ does not live in their hearts, they have heard all the sermons and bowed their heads in prayer, yet…they have no idea to whom they are speaking. And of all the people, they are the ones that are trying desperately to understand why they are never blessed of the Lord, like others are.

Since the 1950’s, nothing has changed, except the people of this world. The Word of God is still the only book that has the answers in it, that will save YOU from Hell. There are few Pastors that still preach Sin! More often than not, too many are preaching the “Feel Good” Gospel. “Oh, you never have to worry, everyone will eventually make it to Heaven. And why is that? Because our God is a loving God and He will accept us because we are “Good People”! That idea is WRONG! And if you for one second believe that, you my Friend are in for a really BIG surprise! The other message of today, is the “Prosperity Gospel”. “That everyone should believe in Jesus Christ and reap the benefits of Jesus hand on our lives and our bank accounts! If Jesus Loves you, you will know by Him Blessing you with wealth and Prosperity.” What utter hog-wash that is as well! I guess they never read in the Bible where it said Matthew 22:17-22 “Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them,Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.” In other words, give to the world what the world expects and to God all that HE expects of us. It has to do with whom you choose to follow, the world or Jesus Christ!

Maybe they missed the part about, Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” That is so to the point, I couldn’t say it any better, but then we are reading the Scriptures, right? What’s “Mammon”? Actually, it is of this world and has nothing to do with our Lord and Savior or with Heaven! Many like to say Money, but that would engulf such a small amount, as opposed to the entirety of all things not of the Lord.

Let me put it to this way of thinking, as in the old days of better Pastors, that walked the walked and talked the talk, of Jesus Christ, of Life and death, of Heaven and hell! “You have nothing to fear, if you are following Jesus Christ…with a TRUE Heart! If this is you, then you never have to fear going to Hell. On the other hand, if you are “Tolerant” of everything, then you will see Hell, you will experience Hell! There is NO hope in Hell, there is no end to hell, there is no Day off in Hell! “There is a difference, as far as East is from the West, is Heaven and Hell and YOU must choose where YOU want to go! Paraphrasing is mine. I don’t care what other people tell you! If you want the truth, about Heaven and Hell, of where you are going in Eternity, then you NEED to read the WORD OF GOD and Believe it, because it is the ONLY Truth there is! ALL YOU need to know, is that Jesus Christ is the only one that can save you! He is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, HE IS GOD!