Donation Drive March to May 

“Well done…”

Billy Graham went to be with the Lord Wednesday, February 21, 2018. Since then, he has been quoted a number of times commenting about his own passing from this life. He made the declaration in one of his crusade sermons many years ago:

“One of these days you’re going to hear that Billy Graham has died. Don’t you believe a word of it…I will be more alive at that time than I am right now… I will be with the Lord in my home in Heaven. I will have just simply changed addresses.”

I heard Dallas First Baptist Church pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, say of Billy Graham upon hearing of the evangelist’s death, “He is hearing the Lord say to him ‘Well done, good, faithful servant.'”

These quotes are reflective of absolute Bible truth. The very Word of God tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We are advised that every believer should want to hear his Lord say to him or her, “Well done, good, faithful servant…Enter into the glory of your new dwelling place.”

One day each of us will come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, if we have accepted His death, burial, and resurrection as the only way to redemption and to God the Father. Sadly, tragically, those who have rejected God’s salvation plan will come face to face with Him as judge of their unredeemed souls.

So only the saved of the ages can look forward to having the Lord Jesus say to them, “Well done…”.

Billy Graham, as Dr. Jeffress pointed out the other day, surely has now heard those wonderful words from the One whose Holy Name the evangelist spoke in hundreds of crusades across America and the world. His homecoming must  continue to be glorious indeed.

As we think on Billy Graham’s departure for his new address in Heaven, it is apropos, I should think, to consider our own time of coming face to face with our Savior and Lord. What should we be doing to strive toward one day, perhaps soon, hearing Jesus say, “Well done, good, faithful, servant”?

Each of us who name the name of Christ must work in His great cause in the way He directs. That is, we must do our best to do His will in serving the purpose He has chosen for our time on earth. This service is individual, of course. But, it can also be done in a collective way.

And, this is the reason for this particular approach to our Rapture Ready donation drive for this quarter. This ministry–designed to lift the name of Jesus so that many will be drawn to Him, and to proclaim His soon return–provides a opportunity for all of us, together, to serve our lord in a powerful way. Those who contribute financially to our effort to alert many around the world to God’s salvation message and to the prophetic truth of Christ’s soon return are performing service that will one day bring forth the words we all want to hear from our Lord: “Well done, good, faithful servant!”

The challenges are great, and are growing more so while we move deeply into the very end of the age. Our financial needs have expanded with increased efforts to give the website a more powerful and effective outreach. As example, it was necessary to spend  three months on updating the board. Since the software was old, it took endless hours for two design teams to update the software from version 4 to version 5. Todd says that if he had known it was going to be such a costly and time-consuming affair, he would have started over with a whole new website model.

As Dr. J Vernon McGee would say, I’m a back number, and understand none of the technological aspects with which Todd has to deal. However, I have listened to him as he has worked to make Rapture Ready everything the Lord wants it to be. He continues to work diligently. The effort and financial expense, likewise,  continue to be considerable.

So, thanks for joining us in this most worthy endeavor while the coming of our Lord nears.

Time is short to work toward pleasing our Lord and Savior, who gave His all for us. What an experience it will be one day to–like no doubt Billy Graham has just done–look into Jesus’ loving, omniscient eyes and hear Him say, “Well done, good, faithful servant. Welcome into the magnificent abode of your eternal joy.”

As we get closer to the Tribulation hour, it is important for every Christian to have an end-time mindset. Prayer is essential at this crucial time. We appreciate those prayers more than we can express. If you truly believe the Rapture is drawing near, you should be more focused on endeavors that will contribute to the Kingdom of God.

Please consider becoming a monthly subscriber. This has been our best form of support. And, it is needed as never before.

An easy way to support RR is with an automatic monthly donation. The PayPal subscription service and allotments set up through a bank are convenient ways to send funds to the site. We hope you will sign up as soon as possible. You can find the link on the Donation page. Donations can also be sent to our PO Box at:

Rapture Ready
P.O. Box 969
Benton, AR 72018

As Billy Graham used to say: “May the lord Bless you real good!”

–Terry

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The Coming Third Lebanon War

The nation of Israel has had two major wars with its northern neighbor Lebanon. In 1982 the first Lebanon war was launched to neutralize Palestine Liberation Organization forces. After PLO leader Yasser Arafat found himself surrounded on all sides, he graciously agreed to a ceasefire that had him and his forces retreating from Beirut to Tunisia.

The second Lebanon War occurred in 2006, and was the result of Israelis responding to shelling from Hezbollah forces. The Israel air force inflicted heavy damage on buildings in Lebanon’s capital. Due to unparalleled Iranian military support to Hezbollah before and during the war, some consider it the first round of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict.

It now appears that all along the Israeli-Lebanon border, round two is about to break out. That is what Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters last week. He had just returned from a bipartisan trip that included Democratic Sen. Chris Coons.

Graham said that Israeli officials made it clear to visiting lawmakers that the IDF will need to launch a military action in Southern Lebanon if Hezbollah continues work on a guided-rocket factory being built in the region – a factory that’s purportedly being funded by Iran, according to Bloomberg.

“They’ve told us in no uncertain terms that if this threat continues – they keep making rockets that can hit the airport and do a lot of damage to the state of Israel – they are going to have to go in,” Graham said.

The reason why Iran is directly funding the factory is a result of America’s lack of a strategy in dealing with Iranian influence in Lebanon and Syria. Because of the intense focus on destroying what is left of ISIS, US military commanders have ignored the growing threat from Iranian agents. In the Middle East, we are always a step behind in fighting the greater adversary.

Graham said that the top request from Israel, in a meeting with that country’s leaders, was “ammunition, ammunition, ammunition” and for future diplomatic support when Israel is forced to strike civilian areas where Hezbollah has heavily imbedded itself.

History shows that Israel will always respond to the need for self-preservation. Iran has repeatedly promised to destroy the Jewish state. The situation is so urgent that a partnership between former foes, Saudi Arabia and Israel, has been formed to push back against Iranian influence in the region, including the implicit threat of military violence.

There has been a typical response from the Lebanese government. Lebanon President Michel Aoun condemned the Israeli regime’s repeated violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty, saying Beirut is prepared to counter any potential Israeli threat or violation.

“Lebanon is keen on maintaining stability and calm in South Lebanon, but it is also ready to defend itself shall Israel carry out an assault,” Aoun said in a meeting with UN Under-Secretary General Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

The number of missiles Hezbollah has amassed has nothing to do with basic defense. This terrorist group has an estimated rocket count of around 200,000 which is considerably more than most countries. Hezbollah is clearly planning for World War III.

The standoff between Israel and Hezbollah shows the staying hand of God. In any other setting, it would be inconceivable for a Muslim force to have so many missiles aimed at Israel and resist the urge to fire them at their foe. Hamas in Gaza only has access to the most crude projectiles and they have fired dozens of times in Israel’s direction. Hezbollah has missiles that can hit almost any city in Israel.

There is such a profound hatred of the Jewish race in the world today that any conflict involving Israel is bound to inflame this demonic rage. Bible prophecy seems to indicate that some event will act as a catalyst to turn all nations against Israel. I believe we are living in the only time that could produce such a universally evil mindset.

“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3: 1-2).

— Todd

 

Gunfight Over the Second Amendment

In the days since the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, the left has gone into full propaganda mode to push for some type of gun control. Their main target is the weapon used to kill 17 people, an AR-15 rifle. They will never be satisfied until they turn the tide on Second Amendment rights.

The current system should have been enough to prevent the massacre. Nikolas Cruz came to the attention of the law enforcement system 39 times. He had told people that he wanted to be a school shooter. Someone had called a tip line and reported him to the FBI. The contacted agents made no effort to follow up on the lead.

“Under established protocols,” the FBI said, “the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life. The information should have been forwarded to the FBI Miami field office, where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken. … The information was not provided to the Miami field office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time.”

There are thousands of convicted criminals who have guns, and the government is making little effort to get those weapons out of their hands. Gun-related deaths in Urban cities are exploding because law enforcement has become too timid in dealing with the problem.

The sharp rise in mass shooting events is not the result of an increase in the number of guns in America. Gun ownership hasn’t changed over the past decade. There are so many of them that some form of prohibition would be no easy task. It’s difficult to calculate, but in 2015 The Washington Post estimated the number of firearms nationwide at 357 million, which is more than one gun per US citizen.

The liberal media in America have become so radicalized in their approach in news coverage that nearly every story they produce heavily reflects their leftist agenda. They find and organize people to demonstrate for their cause. One of these efforts is mockingly called by some the “Children’s Crusade.” The press is using the students from Stoneman Douglas High School to put pressure on lawmakers.

“What I wish people would know is that this is something that people cannot get used to,” student David Hogg, 17, told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America” a day after the shooting. “This is something we can’t let keep happening, because if we do and we get used to it, it’s going to happen again. This is a time for our country to take a look in the mirror and realize there is a serious issue here,” he added.

Several buses were requisitioned and a group of students went to the Florida capital to express their desire for gun control. The question in my mind was who is paying for those buses? If it was Hillary Clinton or George Soros, the whole purpose of the trip would have a new meaning.

The media found a gun-owning politician who was willing to prostitute himself to the anti-gun agenda. Scott-Dani Pappalardo said he would destroy his AR-15 rifle in light of the Florida school shooting unless the NRA is willing to discuss gun-law reform. The New Yorker, who legally purchased and registered the gun 30 years ago, said the Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy had changed his mind about gun control. He destroyed the weapon live on Facebook. His anti-gun speech was featured by almost all major news outlets, which resulted in the video being viewed by more than 20 million people.

The press is going to continue to bombard the public with gun-control propaganda until it changes enough minds to pass new regulations. Once they are able to ban one type of weapon, it will become much easier to put restrictions on all guns.

Satan knows that the Second Amendment will have to be voided before he can turn America into a dictatorship. If people lack the means to defend liberty, a tyrant can take over without a fight. Because we have already lost our rights on so many other fronts, the downfall of America could come at any moment.

The reason why our nation is having so many mass shootings is because we collectively turned our backs on God. The less we have of the Lord’s influence, the more we come under the devil’s control.

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

–Todd

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Israel and Invincibility

The shooting down of an Israeli military jet over Syria as it apparently attacked an Iranian military site seems to have exposed a long-held fear of Israel’s enemies of the region.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, following a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chided that the shooting down of the fighter jet on February 10  had shattered the myth of Israel’s “so-called invincibility.” It is thought to be the first loss of an Israeli military plane to hostile fire since 2006.

Zarif, in his glee over the shoot-down, said, “Israel uses aggression as a policy against its neighbors,” accusing Israel of “mass reprisals against its neighbors and daily incursions into Syria, Lebanon.” He added, “Once the Syrians have the guts to down one of its planes it’s as if a disaster has happened.”

His caustic remarks came following Netanyahu’s holding up a piece of what he called an Iranian drone and accusing Iran of desiring to impose an empire across the Middle East.

The Israeli engagement with Syrian and Iranian military as of late has some quite astute prophecy watchers speculating that the Isaiah 17 destruction of Damascus, the Psalm 83 war, or even the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 38 might be in the making.

Bill Salus of Prophecy Depot Ministry, for example asks: “an Israeli F-16 was shot down by the Syrian Air Defense Force after conducting an air raid on Iranian-backed positions inside Syria. Does this set the stage for the fulfillment of the Isaiah and Jeremiah prophecies concerning the doom of Damascus?”

Many who write are concerned about Israel and its precarious position amongst the Mid-East haters. Particularly, there are concerns about Benjamin Netanyahu and the political intrigues by which he is surrounded.

Not unlike in the case of our own president, it seems the enemies of sound thinking, democracy, and sanity are assaulting Netanyahu at every turn. So far, the globalists and all the others who come against these men are failing in their attempts to bring them–and their nations as democracies–down so that the world order can become reality in order to achieve their evil desires.

The Iranian’s snarky remark about the myth of Israel’s invincibility having been shattered betrays a deeper-seated anger. It involves the same sort of resentment the so-called “deep state”  and Swamp “establishment” harbors for Donald Trump and Bibi’s hate-filled enemies have for him.

The resentment and hatred seems to me to marinate in anti-God vitriol. Satanic fury is at the bottom of the rage.

It’s as if Iranian Foreign Minister  Zarif knows–or at the very least strongly suspects–that God has provided Israel with some degree of invincibility. The loss of a single plane to anti-Israeli, military fire in 12 years is reason to jubilantly proclaim Israel’s invincibility is smashed. They mockingly call that invincibility “myth.” But you have to know that down deep in the Arab-Islamist psyche, they sense that it’s not a myth.

The devastating Arab forces losses of the 1948 war at Israel’s rebirth into modernity, the 1956 war and 1967 wars led by Gamul Nasser, and the 1973 Yom Kipper war led by Anwar Sadat amount to strong evidence. Israel’s seeming invulnerability to defeat must make invincibility seem far more to them than “myth.”

I’m convinced that Egypt’s Sadat came to the conclusion that Israel’s God indeed assures Israel’s invincibility. He thus wisely made peace with Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin while President Jimmy Carter looked on all those years ago.

God does assure that Israel will be a nation forever. But, at the moment, the Jewish state is not God’s nation in the sense of being the eternal Israel, as promised. Israel is the Lord’s chosen nation–chosen to one day be His people and His nation. This will happen when the remnant of surviving, believing Jews at Christ’s return look upon their Messiah.

There is coming a time before then when they will seem anything but invincible. The Tribulation –the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7)–will be the worst time ever for Israel. Satan, through his tyrant Antichrist, will wreak more devastation on the Jewish race and the nation Israel than have all the tyrants down through human history.

But, in the truest sense of the word invincible, the Jewish race–the nation Israel–is the one national entity God-guaranteed to never perish from the earth.

“This is what the Lord says, ‘He who appoints the sun to shine by day, Who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar — the Lord Almighty is His Name; Only if these ordinances vanish from My sight,’ declares the Lord, ‘will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before Me.'” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

–Terry