Eternal Expectations

“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”  Genesis 2:1-3. NKJV

A question I have heard in the past about Heaven went something like this; if this earth, which only took God six days to create, is so amazing and beautiful to so many people, what do you think the mansions that Jesus is preparing for us will look like since He has been working on them for two thousand years?  I believe it’s safe to say that with that much time and effort, what Jesus has prepared for us will make it easy to forget anything that this world ever offered us.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.“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.“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  John 14:1-3. NKJV  

Our hope and anticipation as believers is that moment in time when we enter into the presence of our Father in Heaven, be it by death or the rapture of the Church which so many are expecting at any moment.  Yet while much has been written or taught about what Heaven will be like, the truth is most of that is pure speculation as we are not told much of anything about it in the Word.  Some of what we do know, however, is from the apostle Paul who gives us some insight into what our eternal home is like.  In his first letter to the church at Corinth, he has this to say;

 “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. ‘  1 Corinthians 2:9. NKJV

My impression of these words is that Paul is telling his readers that it’s impossible for us as humans to even begin to understand what awaits us in eternity.  Most believe that Paul has a unique perspective on this subject as it appears he is the only person who has actually seen what awaits us. Having been allowed to visit Heaven, he goes on to say this about what he saw in his second letter to the Corinthians.

“It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord:  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”   2 Corinthians 12:1-4. NKJV

My personal conclusion is that what Paul saw was not only indescribable, but outside of human comprehension.  The Bible contains 683 references to Heaven and in all of them it’s simply identified as the place where God dwells. The Greek and Hebrew words translated as Heaven mean the sky, clouds or air, but none actually explain what we will find there.  Fortunately for us, though, is we are given a description of the place Jesus has gone to prepare for us in His book of Revelation.

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”   Revelation 21:9-27 NKJV

“The bride, the Lamb’s wife,” and “only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” refers specifically to Church Age believers, those who have chosen to accept and believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection as payment for our sin.  “descending out of heaven from God” seems to make it clear that the city is separate from Heaven but exists there.  This then is the place Jesus has been working on for the last two thousand years and where we will find our “mansions” that He promised us so long ago.

Even from this description it seems difficult to imagine what our home is going to look like. City of gold, streets of gold, gates made from a single pearl large enough to allow passage through, and the foundation of the entire city covered in gems reveals the love and effort Jesus has put in to making our eternal home.  This city, where our mansions will be found, is available to all yet as we know, living there comes from making the most important choice pf our lives.

There is no question in my mind, and many others as well, that we have arrived at that point in time which the Bible speaks so much about and that the removal of the Church to spend eternity with God will shortly occur. Becoming part of the body of Christ, the Church, is the result of our choice to accept the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ for our sins.  If you haven’t made that choice, what better time than right now to do it, before it’s too late.  

Simply pray a prayer like this; Jesus I know that I am a sinner, and have sinned against you.  I believe you loved me enough to send your Son Jesus to die for my sins, and that He rose from the dead so that I can live.  Forgive me of my sins and come into my life and help me to live for you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Keep watching.

We Are At War

A subject I have covered lately seems to be getting more and more attention as incidents of violence and persecution against Christians and the Church steadily increase.  This is, in my opinion, one of the more overlooked signs of the end of this age as Satan's attacks on the body grow in intensity as he realizes he is running out of time.  As such, it goes without saying that persecution in one form or another is going to increase steadily rather than decrease the closer we get to the rapture of the Church.  It is with that in mind that I wanted to share an article I came across this week which is a perfect illustration of just one way we are coming under attack.

We Really Are In A Raging War: University Professor Says He Is Waiting For Me To Die

By Ken Ham.  April 30, 2026

Well, the associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota–Morris, P.Z. Myers, who has been obsessed with me and my ministry, Answers In Genesis, for years, recently wrote a blog about me titled, “Waiting for Another Creepy Old Man to Die.”

He ended the blog stating: “That’s a problem with authoritarian cults. They are ruled for life by unpleasant, weird people who alienate everyone around them, and maybe instill in them the ambition to be in charge on their own. I hope I outlive Ken Ham, because I’d really like to see the chaos that will follow on his death.”

As we know, God’s Word states that, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:1–2).

So when any one of us dies is not up to what some atheist professor wants. God is in control of both Myers’ life and ours.

But this pagan university professor, who has continually blasphemed and mocked God and Christians, needs to wake up and take note of God’s warning: “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

And if Myers continues in his willing ignorance and rebellion against God, he will suffer a second death after the first death: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

I would ask us to all pray for P.Z. Myers as he is well on his way to a Christless eternity. He is 68 years old (younger than me), but God could end his earthly life at any second.

I thought I would start off with this today, as I want to remind us all that we are in a spiritual war. And this war is raging about us even more aggressively now than we’ve experienced in the past here in the West.

Years ago, someone said to me, “If you stand on the devil’s toes, he reacts. You guys must be kicking him in the shins.”

Recently, I’ve seen a level of hate against us that seems to be growing. And really, we should expect this. As we see the enormous number of people saved through Answers in Genesis, including over 100,000 a year at the attractions alone, we know the devil will be active. Actually, I believe that because we are in a war, if we’re not getting opposition, we should ask ourselves what we are doing! As we move the battlefront forward, proclaiming God’s Word and the gospel, we expect the enemy to fight back.

Just to give you a sampling of the enemies of God lashing out (reminding us of this spiritual war we are in), I will include just a sampling of the 20,000+ comments on one of my Facebook posts. The post was short: “Man did not evolve from ape-like creatures; the first man was made from dust, and the first woman was made from the man’s rib.”

Now, there were over 20,000 comments on this post, the majority from enemies of God! Let me share some with you:

“Daily reminder that Christianity is the mentally ill belief that a mud-man and a rib woman got tricked by a talking snek into eating a magical apple that gave them a hereditary illness which can only be cured by joining a human-sacrificial blood-cult so you can forge a psychic connection with a 2000-year-dead Jewish zombie ON A STICK..” [sec]

“It’s a shame a dingo didn’t eat Ken as a baby”

“If you take a flashlight and put it against this dudes ear the full light bundle wil shine on the other side”

“COMPLETE NONSENSE All…ALL..ALL LIARS SHALL TAKE THEIR PLACE IN THE LAKE OF FIRE Instead of preaching the gospel of Jesus AS HE COMMANDED YOU You have chosen a subject YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT”

“Just another Fake Christian Inbred KKKlan nut. He’s upset because his Sister divorced him when she turned 13 years old”

“And lizard people run the government and little mice make the wheels in your head go round and round. Silly science denier. I bet you also think the world is flat”

“Your level of religious fanaticism is equal to Muslims who put suicide vests on children. Your delusions are yours. Do the sane demographic a solid ad keep it to yoyr whack self”

“With an intellect as sharp as your’s, perhaps stick to debating dustmites?”

Okay, you get the idea! There were thousands like this, many of which I would not put in this article because they are so perverse. But should we be shocked at such a response from the world? Actually, we shouldn’t. But this last one I’m including is extremely sad because it highlights the state of the majority of our Christian institutions:

Hey! Theologian here. Ken Ham – I used to respect you vision. Your belief that there are answers in Genesis. Then I went off to Bible college, studied the book for myself, then compared that to what science tells us. Why are we still fighting this? There was no contradiction. Nothing at all in the text that should make us fight science. Genesis 1 WAS A RETURN to science… and you have made Christianity worse off by pretending science presented some type of jedpordy to the Faith. All it really shows is that you believe God didn’t have the foresight to write a Bible built on truth. Or worse, you don’t think God wrote Scripture at all.

So many young people from the church have gone to a compromising Bible college/university and come out believing no different than those who posted the comments I included above. A sad state of affairs but a situation that has greatly contributed to a lukewarm church that is, by and large, not impacting the church and culture as it should.

We really are in a raging war. That’s why Apostle Paul uses so much war terminology, reminding us to put on the whole armor of God so we can fight in this battle.

Now we also need to be reminded that this is a religious war.

Consider the atheists and other secularists (and even some people who identify as Christians) who went “ape” over my post. Over 90% of the comments were negative and most of them were highly emotional in attacking me and what Scripture teaches about origins—blaspheming God, attacking the Bible, many mocking me with the worst kind of profanity, and questioning my intelligence (the word idiot was used hundreds of times!). The emotions on display exposed thousands of evolutionists passionately defending their belief system. So many were so profane or blasphemous that we hid their comments. Obviously for them, origins is more than a science issue. Their worldview is challenged by the Bible.

The evolutionary worldview is a religion, one that’s practiced by those who attack Christianity. They have a nontheistic religion; in fact, evolution fits one of the Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions of religion: “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” The dictionary definition of religion certainly describes the worldview of evolutionary naturalism. The beliefs of evolutionism purport to explain the entire world’s existence by means of evolutionary naturalism, and thus, it is an all-encompassing faith—a religious worldview.

Furthermore, the secularists who publicly argue against biblical Christianity (like the thousands on my Facebook post) have their own religious cause to promote as they zealously defend their belief in a naturalistic system of origins. What else would you call what they practice but a religion?

And following the definition above, because zealous evolutionists hold their beliefs with “ardor” and “faith,” they can be described as evangelists for their worldview—defending a belief system that informs how they wish to lead a life apart from God. So by this definition and what we saw from the zealous, angry evolutionists on my Facebook page, evolution is a religious faith. And thus, its avid proponents are religious.

As I say in my talks, in an ultimate sense, there are only two religions in the world—one based on God’s Word and the other based on man’s word.

Ken Ham is an author, speaker, and Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis and its two popular interests: the acclaimed Creation Museum and the internationally known Ark Encounter.

https://harbingersdaily.com/we-really-are-in-a-raging-war-university-professor-says-he-is-waiting-for-me-to-die/

While some may have not noticed or been subject to a personal attack, this situation is, in one form or another, coming to us all in the days ahead.  Yet as bad as it may get, we are promised by the Father that we will not go through the trial that is to come upon the whole earth called the tribulation. The Church, made up of all who believe, will be snatched away, raptured into Heaven to spend eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the blink of an eye.

Have you made the choice to believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again to deliver you from the bondage of sin?  If not, praying a simple prayer like this is all that is necessary for you to be saved and become part of the family of God.

Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that my sins are forgiven.  Forgive me of my sin, help me to walk with you, and thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Keep watching.

https://rev310.substack.com/p/got-any-adversaries-567

https://expose-news.com/2026/05/01/lib-dems-human-rights-breach-after-removing-christian-candidate/

What Is Restraining?

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,”                           2 Thessalonians 2:1-9.  NKJV

If you have ever wondered, there is, in fact, no rhyme or reason behind the topics I choose to write about each week other than what the Holy Spirit chooses to lay on my heart through the various ways He chooses to do that.  This week I got together with an old friend and one of the subjects which presented itself during our conversation was the restrainer that Paul talks about in this passage written to the church at Thessalonica.  Of course, this was also a result of talking, as many are at this point in time, about the evil in this world and the fact that it is obviously increasing.

Although as you might expect, not everyone agrees on who or what the restrainer is, but the majority of scholars agree that the restrainer that Paul mentions is the Holy Spirit, sent to indwell believers on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension.  I personally believe that if a poll were taken of believers concerning how hard the Spirit is having to work in these present times in order to restrain the plans of Satan, most would probably say the Holy Spirit is working overtime. 

While we might agree that it is the Spirit who restrains, many also fail to realize that it is the Church, those of us who have chosen to believe, that the Spirit uses to restrain evil in this world. That said, it falls upon us as believers to not only recognize what is occurring in these times we are living in, but understand our responsibilities in allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us.

So the question I asked my friend during our conversation was something like, “do you believe the Church is working as hard as it can to assist the Holy Spirit in restraining evil?”  The unfortunate and uncomfortable answer was no.  I also believe that anyone who has been a believer for any length of time would have to agree that the Church is well down the path towards what the book of Revelation describes as the Church of Laodicea, or a church with Jesus on the outside knocking to come in.

So while the power of the Holy Spirit is as great as ever, because He chooses to use the Church as His tool we are faced with the fact that evil is increasing because the Church is not fulfilling its responsibility to allow the Spirit to work through it in order to accomplish His mission.  While this seems to be an uncomfortable conclusion to come to, I would suggest it is not the first time in history this has occurred.   One only needs to look back as far as the book of Genesis to see not only what is happening, but the inevitable end as well.

“And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  Genesis 6:3-7. NKJV

The picture we see in the days before the flood is one of mankind choosing to embrace evil and wickedness rather than the God who created them.  The word translated “strive” means “to act as a judge”.   By this we are told that the role of the Holy Spirit in Noah’s time was to convict mankind of sin just as it is today. Yet as we know, the gradual demise of true believers uncorrupted by the sinful lifestyle being practiced diminished in number until it was only Noah and his immediate family that was left.  I believe it is certainly no coincidence that Jesus uses the time of Noah to describe the conditions we will see just before He comes again.  

“But as the days of Noah [were], so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”     Matthew 24:37-39 NKJV

The responsibility of the Church today is to be used by the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and reveal God’s standards for morality and acceptable behavior.  It has become apparent to many in the body of Christ that in the past decade or so there has been a tragic decline in churches which hold to the inerrant truth of the gospel and preach the responsibility of true believers to share their faith to an unbelieving world.  This weakening of the Church has led not only to fulfilling the description given of the Laodicean church as lukewarm, it has also severely affected the effectiveness of the mission of the Holy Spirit to restrain the evil we see.

“For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”  2 Peter 3:5-7  NKJV

The result, I believe, will be a repeat of the judgment of Noah called the tribulation which will occur after the restrainer, the Holy Spirit and the Church, are “taken out of the way” by way of the rapture.  I personally am grieved to come to the conclusion that a large part of the reason for what is prophesied to occur in the last days is in no small part a result of the Church failing to do the work Jesus intended for it to do.  The question I believe we all, as true believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, need to ask ourselves is am I doing enough to spread the gospel in however means the Lord has asked me to do.

There is an angelic battle taking place all around us and we are feeling the effects of it to a greater degree every day.  These battles stretch from the lowest of us, to those who reside in the pinnacles of government power and the closer we get to the end the more severe the attacks against believers will get.  To borrow a line from a popular movie series, “our mission, if we choose to accept it”, is to make ourselves available to serve God in whatever way the Holy Spirit desires to use us.

Make no mistake, while it is the Holy Spirit who restrains evil in this world, He does so using the Church which is made up of true believers in Christ to do the work.  If the Church becomes weak and ineffective, the work of the Holy Spirit suffers.  Now more than ever, as we approach the end of our time on this earth, the Church needs to work as hard as it can to help convict an unbelieving world.

If you have never made the decision to accept the salvation offered by the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I suggest you do that today so you too can experience the comfort that comes from knowing you will spend eternity with our Father in Heaven.  All you need to do is simply pray a prayer like this and ask God the Father to make you one of His own.

 

Jesus I know I am a sinner. I have sinned against you, but I know you loved me enough to send your Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins and then rise from the grave so that I may live forever with You. Lord forgive me of my sins and come into my life and help me to begin to live for You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Keep watching.

https://harbingersdaily.com/bending-the-bible-to-the-culture-how-compromise-strips-the-gospel-of-its-power-and-effectiveness/

https://www.frontpagemag.com/progressives-push-to-remake-christianity-in-their-image/

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

“And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.”    Exodus 14:19-20  NKJV

Most of us are familiar with the expression, “caught between a rock and a hard place”.  I think that expression could accurately describe what the children of Israel were feeling when they looked at the Red Sea before them, and the Egyptian army behind them.  I believe that one way or another, and at one time or another, everyone has encountered a situation much like this in their own lives.  Coming to the realization that you can’t go back, but certainly troubled and uncertain about what the future holds going forward can be more than a little unsettling.  At this point in time, it would seem that many in the body of Christ are coming to the conclusion that we as a Church are finding ourselves in just that position.

The truth is, I can completely understand that because much of what I am hearing and reading from other believers revolves around the increasing persecution we are facing and a very uncertain future before us.  As I thought about where we are this past week, it seemed the comparison of where the Church finds itself and where the Israelites found themselves at the Red Sea was not only applicable but an inevitable comparison. I thought today I would share just a few of my thoughts with you with the hope that you might feel encouraged about our future.

“Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.”  Exodus 2:23-25  NKJV

If anything, the current situation we have found ourselves in has produced what many consider to be an unprecedented increase in prayer and supplication to our Father in heaven.  Many of the events in the past year have served to remind the body of Christ of the importance of prayer and going before God with our concerns while relying on Him to provide that which we need.  I am especially encouraged to hear that many are not only expecting the rapture of the Church, but actively watching and praying for our deliverance.  Fortunately we as believers know that not only did God hear the groaning of the Israelites, He also chose to answer their prayers.

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”  Exodus 14:13-14  NKJV

Right now under the present circumstances, just like the children of Israel in Egypt, the Church finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place.  The world is becoming increasing hostile towards us and unfortunately our country appears to be following suit.  Regardless of the support believers might enjoy from the current administration, society is definitely turning against conservative Christian beliefs. The Word of God tells us, however, that this world is going to be judged for her sins, and this is where we find ourselves today; persecuted from behind with the coming judgment before us.  Fortunately for the Church, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, will deliver us from the coming wrath by way of the rapture of the Church.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.”   Exodus 14:26-28  NKJV

I have often been asked if I believe we as believers will be able to watch what happens on earth during the tribulation from our home in Heaven with our Lord.  I really have no idea but I suspect that we will.  I believe God allowed the children of Israel to watch the sea return to destroy their enemies to show them He keeps His promises not only to deliver, but to righteously judge.  The cry of God’s people throughout history has always been; “why do the evil prosper?”, so to actually witness His divine judgment seems appropriate.  Again, I don’t know that we will watch Him judge but I do know we have His promise that He will do it.

One of the signs we are told to watch for which heralds the return of Jesus for His Church is the increase in persecution that the Church will suffer.  While most of us would tend to focus on governmental persecution of the organized church, we should all be aware that individual persecution by those who disagree with our beliefs will be even more prevalent as we approach the end of our time on this earth.  Every week I read stories of persecution and suffering being visited upon true believers, not only from strangers, but from friends and family as well.  As painful as it is to contemplate, Satan will use anyone and anything, even those closest to us, to attack the faithful as we approach the end of the age.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”   2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV

Obviously what Paul makes clear here is that the source of our comfort comes from God the Father, and we are responsible to pass that comfort along to others around us who are also in need.  Yet now that we know the source of our comfort, and the responsibility which comes with it, what do we know about the nature of that comfort?  As believers, is there a certain type of reassurance which we can use which we find is more effective than the sort of comfort the world might have to offer?  Again Paul comes to our rescue by telling the Thessalonians, and us as well, exactly what we need to hear to find comfort in the difficult times we find ourselves living in today.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”    1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV

I believe that the Israelites were encouraged by looking ahead at the other side of the Red Sea and knowing their deliverance was there.  So too, we as the Church should continue to look ahead and focus on the other side when we will meet Jesus in the clouds.  Our current persecution is simply one more sign that we are swiftly approaching the time of our deliverance.

So while we feel caught in the middle, the truth is that we are close to hearing the call to come home and spend eternity with our Lord. As we eagerly wait for that moment, may we all remember to give thanks to God for His gift of salvation to us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  If you have never made the decision to accept that free gift I encourage you to do so today.  Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to Him.  You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;

 

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."

 

Keep watching.

https://www.raptureready.com/2026/04/15/the-jesus-haters-2026-by-terry-james/