General Articles

Why Angst? :: By John Lysaught

Published on: by RR7

These end times can cause a lot of angst as we witness the world fall apart at an exponential pace. Who could have imagined in January or February 2020 that we would still face the events that happened the last year and the increase that continues to happen in 2021 that will bring us more tribulations and trials stemming from the depravity of man through Satan?

The events of last year and in the present may have surprised us, but we should not be taken aback by them because we know such tribulations must happen. We know as time moves on, we will face adversity, but I didn’t think it would be at the pace we are witnessing.

If you are like me, I expected that things would begin to go downhill gradually, at a slower pace than what has happened and what is happening, but it did not. It is like we were blitzed by the enemy on multiple fronts to knock us off our feet.

We can expect more trials and tribulations because Satan wants us distracted and wants to divide believers, so our eyes are taken off God and our Lord and Savior. He also wants to distract unbelievers from seeking refuge in Christ. The faithful can discern what Satan is doing, and we are prepared to stand strong in God regardless of his tactics.

We can expect more and more troubles to come, including an expanse of persecutions against the faithful. We can expect more diversions and tactics to divide us that are coming from the minions and plans of Satan.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 states, “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” The God of the universe is faithful to believers.

He won’t throw us to the lions to be consumed because He is faithful to His promises. All we must do is trust Him and His ways so that, regardless of what happens, we are in Him and are steadfast in Him.

This does not exclude us from the looming increase in trials and tribulations as we await the rapture. In John 16:33, Christ stated, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Instead of having angst, we should be encouraged by the events unfolding around us. We are eternal beings temporarily pilgriming in this world. Each day that comes and passes is another day closer to the rapture and eternity with our beloved Father in Heaven.

There are believers that do not see it this way. They fear what is occurring. They are terrified of what the next day will bring, of how much worse things will get. Their faith is beginning to wane, and they are slipping into despair instead of rejoicing in our faith and the hope in God. Instead, they are looking to man and the world to make things better.

Many church leaders are to blame for this fear and misplaced faith that envelops believers. Instead of teaching truth, even the hard truths, they look for ways to tickle ears through messages that make people feel good about themselves. They refuse to provide preaching on events related to what we are facing today in the world as prophesied in the Word, as well as the coming rapture of the church.

Pastors are doing a disservice to the souls of their congregants by only feeding them feel-good messages, giving them a false sense of security in the world instead of instruction on preparing for more trials and tribulations as the rapture nears.

The teachings these lukewarm pastors provide are only messages to help people not see the truth unfolding before them. The lukewarm messages are aimed at drawing people in so that they come back each week, so the pastor can stoke the congregant’s emotional responses of feeling good and that everything in the world is fine for them.

So, when these folks leave church on Sunday and face the world the rest of the week, they are blind and unprepared by what is going on around them – their pastors have not prepared them for spiritual battle. They are ripe for the picking by Satan.

Those misled congregants leave church each week and live their lives in a bubble of misinformation. They, due to poor leadership, believe having Jesus in their lives ensures they will not face trials or tribulations. And why should they not believe this? Because all they get is feel-good messages!

This is wrong. I mean, it is great to encourage people, but the hard truths tied to hope found in the Word of God need to be addressed. If not, they are misleading their sheep down the wrong road and are not preparing them for the spiritual battles going on around us right now.

Believers who can read the writing on the wall of what is happening and what is to come know we are in battle on multiple fronts; they know to turn to the Word and prayer to attain confidence and assurance of what must happen so we can go home with Jesus, to meet Him in the air in the rapture.

We can see the evil spewing out everywhere in the world through evil people, but we have confidence in God’s plan for the world and for man. No matter what Satan throws at us through those who worship him and are doing his bidding, we know God will not let us dangle in the grips of the world or leave us behind.

We trust in His promises to believers and Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins on the cross as our surety to heaven. As we hold on to our faith, we know He is with us today and will be with us tomorrow and each day thereafter until we go to Him in heaven and live in His holy presence for eternity. Nothing or no one can wedge us apart from our Father for this to happen.

We as believers need not angst about all the things going on or what Satan will do tomorrow because Christ has already won, and Satan is defeated. It does not mean life will be easy, but we can have peace in troubled times because of Christ’s victory over Satan. We know what the end looks like, and we are joyous of the outcome as relayed to us in the Word.

This brings peace to my heart. I know events are being shaped by God to finish His will for the world and for eternity.

I know we will face increasing persecution and trials as believers in the living God. There is no way around this, but we can face them with confidence in God in this world as we look forward to eternity with Him.

Knowing what the end of this era looks like should bring joy to our hearts, not enduring angst. In what we are going through and will go through as this concluding chapter in history closes, let us proclaim to those who listen that God is real, His Word is real, and the revelations of what is to come are sure.

In the end we should rejoice, not fear; praise, not worry. It is going to be a glorious day for believers when we are raptured – soon, I hope!

Johnflysaught@gmail.com

Before and After :: By Sandy Howard

Published on: by RR7

From the time we’re born, we pass milestones in our lives. Things we learn as we grow that change our lives in ordinary ways. We learn to talk. We learn to walk. We learn to feed ourselves; tie our shoes, roller skate; whistle; swim; ride a bike; read; write; play a musical instrument; drive a car; shave; type; and if from the south, learn to fish and hunt. There are many other milestones we pass along our way through this life. But, in all of our lives at some point, we experience an extraordinary milestone that becomes a ‘before and after’ moment that changes us from that moment forward. Something that changes us as an individual, as a family, as a community or as a country.

President Kennedy’s assassination changed a whole country. Those alive and old enough to understand remember where they were and what they were doing when they got the news. That changed forever the methods used by the secret service and law enforcement to protect presidents, their families and others in positions of power or fame. So life changed from a before to an after.

9/11 changed us all as well, in short-term and in long-term ways. A whole country of people suddenly realized that we were no longer immune to terrorism and weren’t as ‘safe and secure’ as we had previously, naively assumed. From that day forward, the way the whole country navigated an airport, rode on a plane or other public transport changed from a before to an after.

Those in the Midwest remember the horrific tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri, in May of 2011. There were 161 fatalities and $2.8 billion in damages. That disaster changed a whole community and brought about changes like building tornado-proof hospitals, for example. The lives of the people in that community certainly changed from a before to an after.

Although not the largest in the world or worst in terms of damage and lives lost, the 7.8 earthquake in California in April of 1906 nevertheless resulted in 3,000 deaths and 225,000 displaced. And although not immediate, building codes improved. That earthquake and many others since changed many individuals and many families’ lives from before to after.

A diagnosis of cancer, MS, or some other terminal disease changes the life of the patient and the lives of loved ones who love and become caregivers in a serious situation, whether they are trained for it or not. That will change life for all involved from before to after.

The death of a spouse, parent, child, sibling or best friend definitely changes life for those left to grieve the terrible loss but carry on from life before to a different life after.

A young person who goes to war and loses a limb or suffers damage from being exposed to horrific carnage or sprayed with some awful chemical like agent orange as some were in Vietnam experiences forever life-changes from before to life after.

And we all know by now how many changes affect our lives when a pandemic is declared. We are experiencing many life changes that will likely never go back to ‘before’ life.

There are other circumstances that change a life in good ways. A lottery winner comes to mind. As does marriage. And becoming a parent. But the most important I can think of is Salvation. That experience is the most astounding of all because the ‘after’ is eternal life in heaven. No experience can top that.

All the above leads me to the point of this article. The Rapture is going to be the biggest before and after experience ever known on earth so far. The ‘after’ for the believer in Christ will be wonderful beyond imagining. But the ‘after’ for the person who rejects Christ’s offer of pardon and salvation before the Rapture will be the worst that any human mind can comprehend. Jesus Himself said that it would be the worst time on this earth since it was created. The only thing worse than being among the left behind after the Rapture is dying without Christ. The reason is that the person who is alive after the Rapture will have another chance to accept Christ’s offer of salvation. That is, if they live through the chaos and destruction that will result from millions of people disappearing from the earth suddenly.

Imagine airline pilots who disappear in mid-flight. Imagine vehicle drivers disappearing while driving 60 miles an hour on a busy freeway. Imagine explosions and fires caused by pots being left unattended on the stoves of many households. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. So if you die during that chaos, or if you die any time before the Rapture happens without Christ, your ‘after’ is also eternal. In hell. Please hear me when I say that hell is a very real place, and you will certainly go there if you die lost. Forever after. Many have gone there and remain still. Those who entered hell in the 10th century are still there. And always will be there.

So please, please don’t choose that ‘after.’ It is so simple that a child can understand to believe (by faith) that Christ is the Son of God; that He was born of a virgin; that He lived a sinless life as God in the flesh; that He (willingly) died on the cross to pay the debt you and I owe for our sins; that He rose from the dead on the third day and ascended back to heaven to prepare a place for all those who choose to go to heaven.

For a taste of what the ‘after’ will be like for those left behind after the Rapture, I highly recommend clicking on this link and reading a very interesting novel called SEVEN. It’s written by my friend Alice Childs, and although a novel, it describes a Biblically sound picture of what a group of left-behind people will go through – after.

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