The Best Is Yet to Come :: By Holly Spate

Published on: July 1, 2021 by RR7

No matter what you may be experiencing in life, no matter what the world looks like, as a believer in Christ you can confidently and boldly proclaim, “The Best is Yet to Come!” While chaos may ensue and things may spiral out of control, as a Christian you can breathe a sigh of relief and rejoice knowing that your heavenly Father has all things in His control and that one day you will be with Him forever…for all eternity!

Imagine forever. It’s difficult to do as we can’t completely comprehend forever. Imagine never being ill again. Imagine never being tempted to sin again. Imagine never suffering again. Imagine receiving a new body…one without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27).

Imagine the day when the trumpet sounds and we meet our Redeemer in the air! What a day that will be…not like any other day or anything we’ve ever experienced before or will ever experience again. And then, we will forever be with the Lord! Forever…amazing!

1 Corinthians 2:9 reminds us of what’s ahead: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Imagine the beauty of heaven, the freedom, the unconditional love. And, most importantly, the very One who spoke the world into existence…the very One who created your very being and gave you breath will be there. How incredible…how awesome…how miraculous that day will be!

Years ago, God impressed upon my heart to write about this beautiful eternity that awaits all who place their trust in Christ Jesus. I’d like to share the poem He placed on my heart with you. As you read it, imagine all the wonder…all God has in store for YOU for all eternity. Take a moment to think about the time you made the best decision of your life…the moment when you accepted Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior. Remember the awe of realizing that Jesus paid your debt in full when He painfully endured the cross, taking on the sins of the whole world, so that you would never be separated by sin and would never experience the loss of being lost forever. Think about His resurrection and all the blessings given because of His unconditional love for you.

I pray this poem serves as an encouragement as you remember and rejoice because the best is yet to come!

At Heaven’s Gate

Wipe these tears to cry no more
For all will cease at Heaven’s door
The pain of life will fade away
The warmth of love will light the way
All will pass at Heaven’s gate.

New life formed while old is gone
Trumpets sound in praise of song
Angelic voices, clouds of white
Beauty beheld, no dark of night
Streets of gold, glorious days
All begin at Heaven’s gate.

The cries of hunger often ignored
Lack of love shown to the poor
Powers of darkness existing before
Will all be shut out at Heaven’s door
The love of the Father cries, “NO MORE!”

For Heaven is a province of peace
A station where the faithful wait to retreat
A place of goodness not experienced before
A point existing through Heaven’s door.

And as I enter…
I’ll walk upon the streets of gold
Listening to stories from prophets of old
Feeling His love in every face
Expressions flowing deep in this holiest place.

I’ll see Him standing with glory great
The life which brought me here by grace
The lamb who died on Calvary’s tree
To set this lowly sinner free.

I’ll run to Him with outstretched arms
Engulfed in His presence, His loving form
His face of love, in awe I’ll stand
My helper through life, my most faithful friend.

I dream of that day hearing angels sing
When I bow in the presence of my Father, The KING!

Isn’t God good!

The Bible gives us a glimpse into God’s wonderful plan when we venture from this life into our new life for all eternity. Be encouraged by these verses as you’re reminded of your wonderful future which is to come.

Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Revelation 22:1-5 “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Matthew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

Revelation 21:21-27 “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

^“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”

Hebrews 11:16 “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

John 3:13 “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”

2 Peter 3:13 “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

Revelation 21:1-5 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”

The greatest gift the world has ever received is God’s Son. The best decision a person could ever make in this life is to accept God’s precious, perfect, remarkable, life-changing gift with open arms. It is a gift like no other, bringing with it forgiveness, salvation, hope, joy and a beautiful forever future in eternity with the Creator of all. Nothing…nothing this world has to offer will satisfy, will cleanse, will save, will redeem. Nothing but the blood of Jesus can cleanse, save, redeem, forgive, and bring both hope and a beautiful eternal future.

No matter what you may be experiencing in life, no matter what the world looks like, as a believer in Christ you can confidently and boldly proclaim, “The Best is Yet to Come!” While chaos may ensue and things may spiral out of control, as a Christian you can breathe a sigh of relief and rejoice knowing that your heavenly Father protects you, loves you, guides you, and one day will bring you to be with Him forever…for all eternity!

Never take for granted the fact that God’s love compelled Him to send the most precious gift He had to give…His one and only Son.

Jesus’ sacrifice gave YOU salvation. His decision affected YOUR destiny. His unconditional love laid the foundation for YOUR future.

If you are a believer, Rejoice…. Your future is bright and the best is yet to come!

If you have never made the personal decision to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, He is waiting…arms wide open, to accept you and welcome you into His kingdom. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Romans 10:9-13 states: “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. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Call on Him today… He’s waiting, with open arms, to welcome you home!

spate.holly@gmail.com

End Times Issues 1: America in Bible Prophecy—Or Not? :: By David Gravollom

Published on: July 1, 2021 by RR7

End Times Issues 1: America in Bible Prophecy—Or Not? :: By David Gravollom

I was saved in the 1970s and have spent decades in ministry after being taught by some of the best. I pastored churches, evangelized, taught, and wrote. I have seen a lot of fads, deceptions, victories, and defeats come and go in that time. I feel it is time for me to speak out about something that I fear has led to some unfortunate consequences. This is the belief that because America does not appear in any readily identifiable way in Bible Prophecy, this means America must decline and even vanish before the Tribulation.

The Bible has rules for why a nation is mentioned in prophecy. As far as nations mentioned in End Times and Tribulation prophecy, nations appear in direct connection with Israel. Pretty much only if America invaded Israel or in some other form warred against Israel at the end times would the clear identification appear. And not appearing only means America doesn’t do that. It could be the strongest nation in the world but isolationist, for instance. Certainly, the Lord is not required to mention a nation just because it is “great” since, from God’s perspective, all are dust.

The belief that “America is not in Bible prophecy so must decline” is a legitimate opinion, carefully considered by knowledgeable people, and logical. But it is Biblically unprovable. So it is disturbing to hear many Bible teachers say definitively and with no room for an alternative that “America has to decline according to Bible Prophecy” when they cannot point to a verse saying that. This may be the only major belief that is, weirdly, based specifically on what the Bible DOESN’T say! And every belief begins a process of “if that is true, then A” “And if A is true, then B” and so on. And we must watch the effects of what we believe and preach. It is a sacred trust.

Thus, many people believe that America’s decline is specifically prophesied IN the Bible and so believe that the trouble in America is strong evidence the Rapture is close. But there is not one Scripture that says that the world is in chaos at the Rapture (or that it isn’t). There is not one Scripture that even hints that the Rapture cannot come when America is at a prosperous height and everything is good (or everything is bad). The whole issue is incidental to Bible Prophecy.

Read Matthew 24 and understand that Jesus said that there would be birth pains. Although the trend is always toward “birth,” the travail comes AND GOES. It has since Christ ascended. But then came what might be called the water breaking in this pregnancy—Israel becoming a nation on May 14, 1948. Israel is represented by the fig tree in Scripture, and Jesus said that the generation that saw the fig tree budding simultaneous with all the other signs would not pass.

There is a small dispute over whether the fig tree was dead for 1,900 years and budded in 1948, or was planted in 1948 and budded in 1967 when Israel took Jerusalem. But it’s undeniable that between those two milestone years, every major sign began to come to pass. Europe began to come together, television began its march to where the whole world could view an event like the slaying and resurrection of the Two Witnesses, etc. And we are told that generation will not pass until all these things take place; that is the ONLY time sign we have.

“All these things” could have come early or later. But there IS a definite expiration date—that generation will not live forever. And they are getting rather long in the tooth. I lived through a large percentage of that period and watched over and over a rather unfortunate thing—that during a birth pain, multitudes of articles and programs whipped up the idea that the Rapture was just around the corner. Then the birth pain faded, and things got better. Eventually, many people became whiplashed and dismissed the issue, and many ministers became reluctant to preach prophecy at all.

New people were born, and new people became Christians, and eventually, they learn about prophecy; and the process repeats. When you add the idea that America’s decline is actually IN Bible Prophecy, you add a new layer. America has been weakened and even largely apostatized many times and came back. It may or may not come back again. But we have Prophecy teachers claiming unequivocally that “things will not go back to pre-covid normal (one actually said that if you think things will go back to normal, you are ignorant of Bible Prophecy). So, if things DO go back to normal, America rebounds in many ways, many freedoms are returned, what have they done?

Many prophecy teachers and other ministers are saying, absolutely with no wiggle room, that there will be no revival, that it is too late. The young are lost because of the educational system. Will people exposed to that stop evangelizing? And if revival DOES come, will everyone then figure the Rapture must be far away since they were told it was too close to the Tribulation for revival to happen, and then it DID happen? What if America does come back? The birth pain fades? What will people who believe those teachers think? What happens to those teachers’ credibility?

I love these teachers; I don’t want to see that. I’m concerned. Even if evangelism continues, will it be halfhearted now because it’s “probably all over”? I wonder if part of this is that these teachers have lost a certain touch, especially during covid, with ordinary people, and don’t really know how they feel and think. I wonder if what the MEDIA says about what people think is where they get the picture they have because they haven’t engaged, especially with the young out there.

But I and others have found that people are ready for the Gospel like maybe never before. In my own evangelism, I’ve seen hearts softer toward the Gospel than ever. Included are the young and the educated Left. The combination of fear and now disillusionment with the current administration for whom they had such high hopes is presenting a huge opportunity. People like Charlie Kirk and others have had amazing successes, and a conservative revival among the young is taking place. And that alone makes them more open to the Gospel.

Every soul won is worth ten thousand worlds and whatever effort we can make. The work and the fight are over at the Rapture, but not before. Let us labor for the Master from the dawn until the setting sun.

Certainly, there are no permanent political solutions. All recoveries and spiritual revivals by all countries are temporary, no matter how many times they happen. There will come the last recovery and revival, and then the Tribulation comes. The Rapture will come, today or years from now, but until then, you have work, Godly work.

Will we have America, or will we be Venezuela? Will we have freedom to preach the Gospel or not until then?

If you stop praying for things because you’re convinced that America isn’t in Bible Prophecy, God has no reason to answer prayers you don’t pray. Giving up the fight in any way is the one and only thing with a guaranteed outcome. Will you have to account to God because you had a belief like this, and thus the country went to Venezuela-like conditions, and old people were homeless and starved in the streets?

The ironic thing is that the Lord is moving, and Biblical and conservative values have had more victories in the last 180 days than I have seen in my entire 56 years. Court cases galore are filed against the federal government by the states, election audits and integrity bills are multiplying like Kudzu, parents are invading – with extreme vehemence – school board meetings against transgender and CRT agendas. Court rulings in favor of Christians and religious freedom galore. Bills proposed to make vaccine passports, sanctuary for illegal migrants, and CRT illegal in the state are proliferating. A Constitutional Convention is gaining steam. Hidden things exposed like never before.

Everything they try to hide is bursting out. Yet I have heard so little about this from many Prophecy teachers. They don’t seem to know it is happening. They seem to just be looking for America to disappear. Some are almost gleeful about judgment because of America’s sins. But ALL nations will be judged and turned to ashes in the Tribulation. Are they abandoning the fight right at the moment victory, however temporary, looms because of a belief that not seeing America in Bible Prophecy means something terrible has to take us out before the Tribulation?

Paul says that faith, hope, and love abide, and the greatest of these is love. But hope and faith are still to abide, not be given up on. I will admit that I was terrified to write this article. I pray my inadequate words are ministered by the Holy Spirit and my love is clear.

More parts elaborating this and others things to come.

David Gravollom

chocdave777@gmail.com