Eternal life resides in Jesus and in Him alone. No one else! This is true now and will also be the case after Jesus removes His true church from the earth.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
What do people need the most? The answer remains the same as it’s always been: A clear understanding of the Gospel. By this I mean that people need Jesus, not the one that so many today create in their mind but but the One revealed on the pages of Scripture.
Since it’s rebirth as a nation in 1948, Israel has been a key to understanding Bible prophecy. The growing determination of many nations to recognize a Palestinian state along with dividing the land of Israel and Jerusalem via a two-state solution yet again confirms the central role of the Jewish state in what Scripture says about the last days.
The dearth of sound biblical teaching on Bible prophecy has created a void that false teachers have filled with a wide assortment of wayward beliefs regarding the church, Jesus’ appearing, the Second Coming, and Israel. As a result, most believers cannot discern the season in which we live and place their future expectations on temporal outcomes rather than eternal realities.
In Invitation to a Lavish Feast, I seek to provide the saints with a firm foundation for their hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing.
Although we see the manifestation of all these things today, it’s but a foretaste of what lies ahead for the world after the Lord removes His Church from the world and with it, the restraining force of the Holy Spirit. Given what I see today, I shudder to think how exponentially worse life will become.
Our expectation is not only that of meeting Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17), but also that of a resurrection body; one that will be a huge upgrade from our weak “flesh and blood” bodies. No matter what we experience in our current aging and disease-prone bodies, we know it’s temporary. And nothing, not even death, can change the fact that when Jesus appears, He will give us immortal bodies.
In Romans 8:23, the apostle identifies a key aspect of Jesus’ appearing, “the redemption of our bodies,” and then in verse 24 he states, “For in this hope we were saved.” Paul regarded the event we call the “Rapture” as a key belief because it signified the “hope” contained in the saving message of the Gospel.
Similar to what Josh McDowell wrote in his book, when I place today’s signs of the last days in the scales, they tip the balance overwhelmingly in favor this being the last moments before we as New Testament saints meet the Lord in the air.
The mountain of evidence allows for no other verdict than the one that says we live in the season of Jesus’ appearing.
It's difficult for me not to see God’s hand in bringing together the many factors that contributed to the dreadful images that continue to stream our way from the west coast. It’s not the Day of the Lord wrath, but we would amiss not to see it as His warning of lies ahead for those who refuse to respond to His gracious offer of salvation.
If the first nine days of 2025 are any indication of what lies ahead, we are in for a wild ride. It was popular at the start of this century to ask, "What would Jesus do?" As we view pictures of the devastation left by the fires in Southern California, perhaps it might better to ask, "What would Jesus say?" about our day.
With the dawning of 2025, is there any cause for us to be less watchful than we were a year ago? No, I believe it’s rather a time for increased optimism. Of course, it would be more than a little foolish to predict that the Rapture will happen in the next twelve months. However, it would be equally so to say it couldn’t happen at any moment.
The fulfillment of Messianic prophecies began with Gabriel’s visit to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:28-38). Along with explaining her supernatural virgin birth, the angel referred her Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Messiah’s birth as a “child” (Isaiah 9:6-7). His message to the mother of Jesus included the promised millennial reign of her Son.
A year ago, I thought the Rapture would surely happen during 2024. Although we remain earthbound, the signs of the approaching Tribulation period continue to reach new heights in both frequency and intensity.
In this article, I have selected seven news stories from the past year that continue to shout with the message that we live in the last days leading up to the start of the Tribulation period.
