Nephilim:
Read Revelation 12 with understanding.
Verse 5, the child that was caught up, that's the rapture of those that are asleep in christ and those that are ready for his appearance filled with his spirit.

You are very wrong. That child is Jesus Christ who will rule the world with a iron rod.

Revelation 12 King James Version (KJV)
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

maak400:
You’re absolutely spot on @albhagdadi.
I thank God for my salvation and I will continue to preach the gospel of Christ through write-ups like yours by His grace. Please permit me to post this article on my Christian blog. I will reference you as the author. Thanks.

Go ahead and post it on your blog.

May God be with you.

Therapyken:
Even the whole idea of the number 666 eludes many. For an understanding of the events that mark the end of this system of things, I recommend the book Revelation and its Climax published by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Get out of here with your Jehovah's false witness doctrine.

scholar44:
God have not appointed us to wrath. Just make sure ur salvation is intact. Don't go back to sin. Rapture will take place before d great tribulation.just like wenGod save Noah before d flood destroy d world in d past.

The wrath spoken of in the verse you cited is God's wrath. We saved people are not under God's wrath.

Romans 1:18 “ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth .”

Revelation 16:1
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.


However, Satan also has his own wrath. Guess who he will be unleashing it on just as God unleashes his on sinners? Satan will be unleashing his wrath on Christians.

Revelations 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

If you read the OP, you will see where the Antichrist wages war against the saints. That's also Satan's wrath.

So, basically we are not under God's wrath like sinners. That doesn't mean Satan doesn't want to pour his wrath on us.

Yes, God saved Noah before the flood destroyed the world. The mistake you are making is that you are mixing God's wrath for Satan's wrath.

Satan pours his wrath through the Antichrist against Christians during the tribulation. After that comes God's wrath to destroy the world and the system of the Antichrist. Immediately before his wrath, he saves his people but not before a tribulation or wrath of Satan has been unleashed on them. Guess what? He saves them all through Satan's wrath and will saved them during his own wrath just as he protected Noah when he was destroying the world with a flood. Don't mistake God's wrath for Satan's wrath.

scholar44:
My brother the rapture will take place before the great tribulation.

Please prove it.

Chosen1984:




JESUS CHRIST, The LORD and SAVIOR of Humanity gave one the most Terrifying words in
Matthew 24:21
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

The Lord Jesus Christ Who is the way , The Truth and the Life, not given to exaggeration. Yet He speaks of a time so terrifying, so horrible, that nothing compares to it.

JESUS CHRIST is not speaking of those general “trials and tribulations” all of us have. This is a unique time, seven years of hell on earth. There is nothing like it in all history, secular or biblical. Revelation chapters 6-19 describe that terrible time.

What is the purpose of the Great Tribulation?

Will Believers alive,( whose Names is written in the book of life) go through it?

Let's have a look at the purpose.

1.The Great Tribulation is the last seven years of God's dealing with the nation of Israel before they are brought to a final crisis—and prepared for receiving their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. We know this because of many Scriptures connecting the Great Tribulation to the nation of Israel.
Jeremiah 30:7
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Also see Daniel 12:1

These chapters makes it clear that the Tribulation is a time to prepare the Jewish people to receive the Lord Jesus Christ and that God will save Israel out of it.

When the Bible uses the word “Jacob,” it always refers to fleshly Israel, natural Israel, the Jews as we know them. It is not speaking of “spiritual Israel”—the Church—the Body of Christ.

Jeremiah 30:10-11 explains further
10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

From these scriptures, we see that Jacob is Isreal. Daniel people are the Jews ( Isrealites)

They are the Elect who JESUS talked about in Matthew 24:22
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

2. Another purpose of the Tribulation is to punish the Gentiles for their arrogance, rebellion and godlessness. Isaiah 24 and Jeremiah 25 beginning with verse 30 describe the Great Tribulation coming upon the Gentiles.

God will pour out His wrath upon a world that has spurned Him, that has laughed at and ridiculed His precepts and principles.

So who will be going through this great tribulation?

Clearly, Israel, for it is “the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

notice in all of the scriptures that deal with the Great Tribulation, not one scripture mentions the Church—the Body of Christ—as being present during that time, not even the book of Revelation.

The Key to Revelation

To better understand the book of Revelation, you first need the key to the book.


In chapter one, the apostle John was in prayer when he heard a voice behind him. The Voice identifies Himself as “the Alpha and Omega,” the resurrected Christ. He instructs John in verse 19 to write those things “which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.”

There is the key! if you do not understand this one verse, you will not understand Revelation or that it is divided into three sections: past, present, and future—the things John has seen, the things which currently are, and what will happen in the future.

What had John seen? John had a vision of Jesus Christ coming in power and great glory, and he wrote that. So the first division is complete.

In chapters 2 and 3, John moves to the second division, things which are, and John brings seven messages to seven churches. These were seven literal, actual churches, but they represent all churches of all time. Chapters 2 and 3 say “church” over and over again. This is the second division: the Church Age. We are living in the church age.

Now notice something remarkable, beginning in Revelation 4:1.

And after this, behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and I will show thee the things which must be hereafter.

From Revelation 4:1 through to the end of the book, we have entered into “the things which must be hereafter.” John, our brother in the Church Age, is symbolically lifted out of this earth, taken up to heaven, and then his description of “the things which must be hereafter” begins.

In Revelation chapters 4-19, we see the horrors of the Great Tribulation.
from this point on, you do not hear the Church, the Body of Christ, mentioned again.

The Lord has specifically promised to keep the Church from the Great Tribulation.

1Thesl 1:9-10
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

In Conclusion,we can see that the Tribulation is for
1.the correction and preparation of the nation of Israel
2. the punishment of rebellious nations and people who have rejected God.

The Bride of JESUS CHRIST, The Church will not be Here during the Great Tribulation..

Before the antichrist Officially takes over, The Church Must Be taken away..

The verse 24 you quoted talked about the Great Tribulation. If you read further, you will see that Jesus said he will be coming immediately after the tribulation of those days, not before.

Mathew 24:29-30 KJV
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.


What you copied and pasted here is incoherent.

Chosen1984:
My Brother, There is a Difference between Tribulations, Persecutions and The Great Tribulation!

Tribulations, Persecutions etc are what we are passing through right now..

The Great Tribulation which is the 7year Period allotted to the antichrist to perform his Enterprise.

The Bride of Christ , the Saints will be taken away ( The Rapture) before this takes effect.

The Rapture of the Saints is what is Hindering the antichrist from his alloted time.

I'm sorry, but you didn't back any claim of yours with scripture. It is more like you just posted what you've been told over time.

You claim that the saints will be taken away before the Antichrist comes, yet the book of Revelations states that he will wage war against the saints. Please which saints is the book of Revelations talking about? The raptured ones or the unraptured?

Revelations 13:7
13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

NextD18:
It's known that Religion and common sense don't work together, that's why I will very foolish to read this rubbish just to agree that Coronavirus is the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Where in the passage does it say coronavirus is the second coming of Jesus Christ? Sadly, you have display what you thought you would be if you had read the post.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned

There's currently a notion out there which says that a COVID-19 vaccine might actually be the make of the beast otherwise known as 666. While many who hold the idea base it on speculations that the vaccine will be forced on people, some say it can't be the mark of the beast because the rapture must take place before the Antichrist shows up with his 666.

While no one is certain what the vaccine is, I just want to correct a notion among Christians which says rapture must take place before the Antichrist comes. This is a false doctrine not found in the Bible but in Hollywood movies.

Christians will be here on Earth when the Antichrist shows up and enforcing his mark. That is what Jesus Christ himself said.

The concept of rapture before the Antichrist was made popular by movies like LEFT BEHIND and some America. televangelists. Before 1800, there was no church or preacher holding such doctrine. It was started by a man named John Darby who even wrote his own Bible which lacked key verses. Today, the doctrine is held by roughly 65% of Christians. The doctrine that we will escape the tribulation is false and not Biblical.

Jesus himself spoke of when the rapture will take place. Notice how his disciples asked him to tell them what the signs of his coming will be.

Mathew 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Now read the further

24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)
24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

In verse 9, Jesus spoke of Christians getting delievered up for persecution and are killed. That is the tribulation. But false teachers have taught that the people who will face such are unbelievers who are left behind after Christians have been raptured. Well, basically we all agree that the tribulation involves persecution. But the confusion here is who are the people to face the tribulation? Some believe it is unbelievers after Christians have been raptured, while some say it is Christians who will be persecuted by the Antichrist for failing to received the mark of the beast. Let's allow the Bible settle this confusion.

First, let us see whether Christians will be raptured before the tribulation or not.

[Mathew 24:29-31
24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Did you see the bold part in the passage above? Did you also see that the rapture takes place immediately after the tribulation of the end times? The events in verse 30 to 31 are the same as described by Apostle Paul in...

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

But some people have deceived many by saying that what Jesus said in Mathew 24 cannot be the rapture because he was talking to the Jews and not to Christians. Why is it not the rapture when it is the same event described by Paul? Trumpet, angels, God's people getting caught up to heaven etc.

Yes, Jesus was talking to the Jews because his disciples who asked him to tell them about the end time were still under Judaism. But if you read Mark 13 and Luke 21, you will see that it's the same thing Jesus said in Mathew 24. At the last verse of Mark 13, Jesus said what he's saying to the people whom some quarters are saying is not the church, he's saying to ALL which includes the church.

Mark 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Now, we see that the tribulation occurs before the rapture, but who carries out the tribulation and what is it exactly? The tribulation is the persecution of Christians at the end time such as never was and never will be.

Mathew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Christians will be beheaded and persecuted all around the world. This persecution will be carried out by the Antichrist engineered by Satan himself.

Mathew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)


The Abomination of Desolation is the Antichrist who exhaust himself above everything called god and forces people to worship him.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Did you read the passage above? Did you see where it spoke about the coming of our Lord Jesus? Did you see in verse 3 that the day which Jesus will come will not exists until the man of sin (Antichrist) is revealed? Read verse 4 as well.

Yet some people say Christians won't face the tribulation even when the Bible says the Antichrist who will persecute during the tribulation will come first before Jesus Christ who will come and deliver Christians from his grip. Many will mistake him for Christ.

Mathew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.



This Antichrist will wage war against the saints.

Revelations 13:4-8

13 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

As you can see above, the Antichrist exhalst himself and blasphemes God's name. Is this not the same man Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, whom he said must first come before Jesus Christ comes back?

Now as seen in verse 7 above, the Antichrist wages war against the saints and will overcome many. Why is he waging war against the saint if some people believe the saints wont be around during the tribulations? In verse 13, everyone on earth is seen worshiping the Antichrist. Those who won't worship him are those whose names are written in the book of life. This is what will anger the Antichrist and make him wage war against them with great tribulation and persecution.

Revelations 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ

What we see so far is that people with their names in the book of life won't worship the Antichrist. But I ask, what are they doing on earth? I thought some people said they would have been raptured and escaped.

The proponent of a pre-tribulation rapture doctrine have said that the people left behind will be unbelievers who will now have to pay with their blood to get saved. They are the ones the Antichrist will persecute. This is a lie. If all Christians will be raptured before the tribulation, then those left will be unbelievers who are already tools of Satan. Do you expect someone who doesn't give a damn about Jesus to stand with Jesus when a cutlass is placed on his neck? He will gladly received the mark of the beast because he's not used to suffering for Christ whom he never believed in.

In revelations 12:17, we see that Satan will make war against those who hold the testimony of Jesus Christ. How some people believe that the people that Satan will make war against are unbelievers is what baffles me. Do unbelievers hold the testimony of Jesus? No.

Basically, what we've seen so far is that the Antichrist comes first, then follows a great tribulation which involves the persecution of Christians. It is immediately after the tribulation that Jesus Christ will appear and will redeem his people through a rapture.

Don't let anyone deceive you. Prepare yourself for that day which is fast approaching.

For the unbelievers, if you happen to be alive during the Great Tribulation, you still have the chance to be saved. Just listen to the preaching of Christians which will be very widespread by then because Christians will perform more during that period.

The reason why true Christians have no fear of the tribulation and the mark of the beast is because they cannot receive the mark no matter. They have been saved by Jesus and sealed with the mark of Christ. It is those who aren't saved but called themselves Christians that are worried and praying to bail out through a false rapture doctrine.

So, if COVID-19 vaccine is the mark of the beast, I'm rest assured that it won't get to me. This may make me lose my job and so many things due to persecution, but not my love for God who has sealed me until the day of rapture when I will meet him in the sky when it is all over. Accept Jesus today by confessing your sins and relying on him. That's the only way to prevent yourself from receiving the 666 in whatever design it comes in.

Note:

As the lockdown period gets eased tomorrow, please beware of fake COVID-19 miracles from false prophets who have been looking for a way to cash in on the pandemic to safe face after discovering that their falsehood has been exposed for not seeing any vision about the coming of the virus. They are warming up, so beware.

ikorodureporta:


So what wl happen to d dead who didn't hear the gospel

The dead heard the word of God. Before Jesus Christ, Prophet Jeremiah preach the word of God to the ends of the world. Those who heard him also spread it in their own country. It's the same thing Jesus told his discuoles to replicate.

Any country or town now which hasn't heard the gospel today have either rejected it before or about to.

Their parents must have rejected it before which is why their children don't have access to it today. Why? Because God visits the iniquities of the father on the children to the fourth generation. After the fourth generation, God gives them a chance to accept his word again.

ikorodureporta:


How about those who never heard the gospel??

Everyone will hear the gospel before Jesus returns. Look at what the internet is doing. Hardly will you hear that someone hasn't heard about Jesus.

f you are still afraid of that day, it simply means you have not been made perfect in the love of God. You are yet to understand fully how much God loves you. You are yet to understand all that He has done for you in Christ. You are yet to understand who you are in Christ!
Yes the judgement day is coming but Jesus got you covered as a believer.

Unlike what is popularly believed out there, your sins are not going to be displayed for the whole world to see and judge your level of performance. You are not going there to be judged by your works but rather your faith in Christ.

The only time you will ever be judged for your works as a believer is at the Judgement Seat of Christ. This is after you have gone to heaven.

That is where you will receive the reward for the good works you have done here on earth. If you have no good works on your account then, you will certainly have no reward from Him. Though you will still be in heaven. That is because heaven is not a reward for our good we have done. It is a gift we receive by faith in Christ.

This is the truth and nothing but the truth.

ikorodureporta:
Share your personal view pls...


* If "only those who believe in Christ & lived right" would be raptured, how about other non-christians that lived right??

*What is the minimum requirement to be rapturable? Is it the whole "10 Commandments"? If so, how many of us will qualify?

*"Others will be thrown into hellfire" ...Are all sins equal? So, after rapture, the others will be given the Antichrist number, which makes them candidates of hell?

*So God created the world to subject over 90% of the people to 'hellfire' ..Of what benefit??


Logical Argument, Pls!

1.) It is only those who believe in Jesus Christ that will be raptured. There is no need for them to live right as you've added because Ephesians 2:8-9 says "for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of your self, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast"

As seen above, non-believers who live right still can't make heaven because they don't believe in Jesus. Even so-called Christians who believe they need to live right or work to make heaven won't make it at all.

2.) You don't need the ten commandments to make the rapture. You only need them to live right and earn blessings on Earth, they play no role in getting you to heaven. The only criteria to get you to heaven is to BELIEVE in Jesus Christ and you will have eternal life as stated in John 3:16.

3.) Don't be fooled, rapture won't happen until the mark of the beast is given to the world. Christians will reject it which will anger the Antichrist and make his persecute them. The reason why they won't accept the mark of the beast is because they have already been sealed with the mark of Christ right from when they accepted Jesus and believed in him. That day, God sealed them with eternal life as stated in John 3:16 which is why that verse is a very powerful and popular verse. So, it is when the persecution of Christians becomes too much that Jesus will rapture then to meet him in the sky and come down to earth with him to reign for a thousand years.

4.) Those people chose hell when they could have believed in Jesus which is as simple as drinking water. It's their fault.

AntiChristian:
Wetin dey this pix?
Their God don die? See blood all over!
Men hanged God on the cross.
Men removed God from the cross.
God died and woke up after how many days and night sef?

That act saved me for all eternity.
He has risen and willing to save you too.

Scroll down to see the picture below which shows Jesus Christ getting taken down from the cross after he gave up the ghost. What he went through was the worst punishment any man could receive and he faced it as a sinless man who committed no offence.

Today, there are two kinds Christians in the world who see the sacrifice done by Jesus in ways different from each other. The first group are called work based salvation believers while the second are known as Grace alone through faith salvation believers. Let's see what they believe and see whether the Bible supports it.

1.) Work based salvation

When those in this group look at what Jesus Christ did on the cross, they say it was to pay for their sins. At the same time they believe their sins can prevent them from heaven. What they are basically saying is that Jesus Christ dieing on the cross paid for all the sins they committed in the past, which means they will be held accountable for any sin they commit going forward. That is why they strive so hard not to commit sin because they believe their work or ability not to sin is what will get them to heaven. They have ignored the words of Jesus Christ seen below.

John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

They have ignored Jesus Christ and are relying on their works to get them to heaven. They are like Cain who relied on his ability to work and till the soil and grow fruits which he offered to God as sacrifice. His sacrifice was rejected by God because it was the work of his hand. He should have been like his brother Abel who had faith in God's word and followed the instruction to offer the blood of the lamb which was symbolic of the blood of Jesus the Holy Lamb.

Hebrews 11:4 KJV
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

As seen above, Abel did what he did through faith. The faith he had was after he heard the word of God instructing them on what to offer to him to be counted righteous.

Romans 10:17 (KJV)
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Cain must have heard the same word of God and instruction which he disobeyed. He decided to offer the fruits of his own work instead of the blood of the lamb which pictures Jesus Christ. Cain was rejected for not following simple instructions. The same applies to some so-called Christians today.

2.) Grace alone through faith

Those in this group are following the footsteps of Abel. They rely on the blood of the Holy Lamb to pay for their sins. After accepting Jesus Christ into their life, they don't hold themselves responsible for any future sin they commit because Jesus has paid for it all. They avoid sin simply because they know God might punish them for it here on Earth but will never cast them into hell fire because Jesus has paid for those sins and has given them eternal life.

What is eternal life? It means life that never ends. That is what Jesus told us God gives to those who believe in him.

John 3:16 (KJV)
16 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.

Once you believe that Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, has paid for your sins of yesterday, today and forever, you will immediately have eternal life. Heaven has been made certain for you because no sin is too powerful to withstand what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He conquered sin and death on your behalf. He was crucified like the worst sinner, yet he was a righteous man. What happened on that day was Jesus Christ taken upon himself your sins and guilt and getting condemned for it, while his righteousness was given to you by God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

You are now sinless and righteous in God's eyes. The world may look at you and see all sort of shortcomings, but God sees you with a different lens because the blood of Jesus is always interceding for you.

1 John 2:1-2(KJV)
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

You don't have to strive to make heaven by the fruits of your own work which is by not sinning. God has given heaven to you for believing in Jesus. He will never take that eternal life from you or else he will be a liar. If he takes it from you, then it means the eternal life was never eternal because it ended the moment he took it back. But since it is eternal, he will never take it back because it is yours for believing in his son. You are no more condemned because you believe in the eternal life he gives.

John 3:18 King James Version (KJV)
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

You are a true believer of Jesus Christ if you believe God has given you eternal life which never ends, which means you can't lose your salvation. Those who believe they can lose their salvation, which means they can lose the eternal life, have called God a liar because they don't believe in the record that God has given a never ending life to all those who believe in his son.

1 John 5:10-12 (KJV)
10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Beloved, flee from Churches which preach work based salvation. They don't believe in Jesus, they just pay lip service and are into church business for the money. They are leading you to hell.

Many do not know the statement of faith of the church they attend. If your church doesn't have a statement of faith, kindly flee. If your church's statement of faith says work based salvation or you can lose your salvation, kindly flee without looking back. But if your church's statement of faith says eternal security of the believer or saved by grace through faith or once saved always saved, then you are in the right place.

If you have believed this sermon, kindly say the below prayer.

Lord Jesus I acknowledge myself a sinner and know that no matter what I do to avoid sin, I still won't be able to make heaven. You are the only way to heaven. I no longer rely on my works but on the work you did on the cross. I believe your word which says I will have eternal life if I believe in you. I now place my believe in you and believe you have paid for my sins, the ones of yesterday, today and the ones yet to come. I accept you as my Lord and Savior to save me from condemnation. Amen

Happy Easter

Magnoliaa:


Is the truth you get from it not an interpretation?

Unless 'interpretation' means something else I'm not getting, in a different context.

Cambridge dictionary gives the meaning of Interpret to mean:

1. to decide what the intended meaning of something is.
2. to express your own ideas about the intended
meaning of a play or a piece of music when
performing it.

Both instances have to do with you and what you do. However, when reading the Bible, it should have nothing to do with you deciding or expressing your own ideas. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is the one who decides and expressed and what he does is nothing but the truth.

It is the Holly Spirit that guides us into all truth, not ourselves. That is why it is wrong to say you are interpreting the Bible. Let the Holy Spirit do that.

John 16:13 King James Version (KJV)
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

afroniger:


Oh really? Which 'one language' biko? Aramaic or Hebrew? And lemme guess, out of the hundreds of denominations, sects, and cults of the christian faith with their differing doctrines and teachings, you are the 'special one' that is authorized or chosen to know the only 'true' interpretation huh? I sabi your type wella. Na una dey follow those kind extremist/puritanical cultists that pose as pastors who feel they alone understand the bible. Continue.

There's no need for argument. Kindly come up with your "interpretation" and let's see if it's the truth.

afroniger:
Op and who made you an authority on biblical interpretation?? Since the bible is subject to interpretation, your argument or interpretation is in no way superior to his. The Bible can be twisted and manipulated to support almost any position. No word like '666' or 'rapture' appears anywhere in the bible. Those words came about from interpretation of some sects or denomination. That christian bible is filled with too many contradictions.

The Bible is not subject to interpretation. Holding such thought is why people twist the Bible however they like and claim that's the interpretation they got from it.

The Bible speaks only one language and that is the truth. Any other thing different from the truth is a lie and not coming from the Bible.

jcross19:
have you ever wondered why would God released devil again after Jesus might have finished His reign of a thousand years?.

God is simply Leaving Trash For LAWMA by releasing Satan after the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

Why did I say so? Satan will go an gather all the people of this world to battle against God. They will be gathered at a place hoping to fight against God only to be burnt by God. So clearly, Satan is a waste collector who gathers wastes to be burnt. That's what God will release him to do.

As seen above, the man called Augustine challenged Mike Bamiloye by pointing out his error in the rapture doctrine he holds. The man used Bible verses in an accurate manner to challenge Mike Bamiloye.

Guess what Mike Bamiloye who calls himself an Evangelist did? Instead of countering the man with Bible verses, he decide to lean on the movies he has been making for decades on rapture. According to him, the movies are right while the Bible is false and shouldn't be listened to.

For anyone interested in knowing whether Christians would face the GREAT TRIBULATION or would escape it through a rapture, please read the link below. It will open your eyes to see that it is not everyone who calls himself an Evangelist that is truly evangelizing the things of God. Some are just Nollywood actors.


https://www.nairaland.com/4852159/rapture-not-happen-until-christians

As seen in the posts shared by Mike Bamiloye, the Church has to be raptured to heaven first by Jesus. Those who hold this believe are known are pre-tribbers i.e they believe that before the the GREAT TRIBULATION on Earth, Jesus will quickly and quietly take his followers away to heaven.

After that is done, the Antichrist will now appear on Earth to deal with those LEFT BEHIND for seven years. After the seven years are over, Jesus will now come again to destroy the Antichrist.

Everyone on Earth is expecting the SECOND COMING of Jesus Christ. The Bible never spoke of a Third Coming. But pre-tribbers who say Jesus will secretly come to take his followers to heaven then come back to destroy the Antichrist don't know what they have done by holding such believe.

They have clearly stated that Jesus is going to have a THIRD COMING which is false and unbiblical.

With many people around the world scared about the coronavirus pandemic, many false prophets have been cashing in on the fear by dishing out falsehood, either out of their deceitfulness or because they themselves are deceived.

Evangelist Mike Bamiloye of Mount Zion Drama Ministries has been very busy on Facebook giving teachings about the rapture to help calm people in these troubled times.

One of his posts sees him saying that any Mark of the Beast or 666 mark purportedly out there is fake. His reason is that the Church is still on Earth and has not been raptured.

According to him, it is only when the Church has been raptured that the Mark of the Beast or 666 Mark will start to get issued to people.

Read his posts below. I beckon on you to find time for this thread because it will be interesting.

iammo:




I do enjoy this guys preaching, same with Adeboye even as a muslim, they are philosophical and not overly religious

How anybody with sense would attribute a virus (living organism ) to a signal beam, beats my imagination


.

You like both pastors because they tell you what you want to hear - philosophy - which is why you speak good of them. Here's what the Bible has to say about them.

Luke 6:26 (KJV)
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Iyiataata92:

The mosque was shut down because the worshippers attacked the Lagos State Task Force

What were the Task Force doing at the mosque? Therein lies your answer.

Whatever, it still doesn't give Christians the excuse to go to church. By the time Muslims start dropping dead, which I don't pray for, the rest will give themselves brain.

If Mecca could be shut down, then don't you think it is stupid for a local mosque to function in these times?

Iyiataata92:
OP, Churches have closed down while Mosques continue to hold services. Are you not still ok with that?
What more do you hold against Churches?

I recently read about a mosque in Agege which was shut down by the government of Lagos for flouting the social distancing order. I don't know about any other mosque disobeying the order.

But if Muslims want to expose themselves to the deadly virus, so be it. That doesn't mean Christians should do same.

I recently read that a very popular pastor in Nigeria spoke against the arrest of pastors who disobeyed the social distancing order by the government by holding services of more than 50 people. His argument is that the pastors were arrested just as Jesus and his disciples were arrested for doing what government warned against.

Both instances are quite different from each other. Jesus and his disciples were arrested by the government for upholding God's commandments and testimonies. These pastors on the other hand were arrested for disobeying the government who hasn't stopped them from upholding God's commandments.

The lockdown and social distancing order by the government is not a persecution of Christianity as some are trying to paint it. It is truly what it is - the protection of people which is by curbing the spread of COVID-19.

If some people say Christianity is persecuted because Churches aren't allowed to hold services in the regular manner, what about night clubs, sports stadiums, concert halls, restaurants, buses, schools etc? Can those ones also cry of persecution?

The government is simply trying to protect the citizens by ensuring that the number of people infected with COVID-19 doesn't increase. Perhaps, it's when people start dropping dead that stubborn folks will understand the government's effort.

Any pastor that tries to cramp his church with a crowd is wicked and should be arrested for endangering lives and aiding the spread of the virus.

Some may say "God will protect us, so we must have faith in that by gathering as usual". That is a wrong thing to say because it means you are tempting God. God steps in when there's nothing else you can do to protect yourself. But when you have measures or escape route and still decide to walk into evil because you think God will protect you, then you will be punished.

Proverbs 22:3
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Don't tempt God, obey the government's guidelines towards battling this virus. It is not compulsory you gather in a build before you worship God. You can worship God individually at home because God is everywhere and can see you.

Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

The only time you can disobey government's order as a Christian is when they are telling you to disobey God's word. Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego were told by their government to bow before a statue. They refuse because it was against God's commandment.

Exodus 25:4-5
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

The three young man refused to obey the government's order because it goes against God's word. Then knew the punishment the government would visit then with. They knew God could deliver them from it because they couldn't deliver themselves. The only other way out of the punishment is by disobeying God. They didn't want that route so they trusted in God.

Daniel 3:17
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king

Don't let any false pastor expose your life to danger of the virus. The worst thing is that when you get infected, same pastors who hold stage-managed miracles in large stadiums won't be able to perform a miracle to heal you because they are false prophets who don't know God.

Stay at home and stay away from conspiracy theories. Read the Bible.

Boywiszy:
Pls don't get me wrong on this question,, is it naturally that fig tree don't produce leaf without fruit?

It wasn't yet season for figs to come out, yet one fig tree had leaves. The leaves indicated that it was an early bloomer and therefore should have fruit.

Imagine Nigeria. Soldiers hiding in sambisa forest waiting for pile of arms to be delivered to them so they can go and battle Boko Haram.

Now, imagine one of the soldiers getting up from their hideout and walking to confront Boko Haram. Wouldn't you think he must have a weapon perhaps hiding in his uniform for him to be brave enough to confront Boko Haram?

How disappointed do you think everyone will be on discovering he doesn't even have a single weapon but acting like he's got an armoury? Instead of him to wait for the season when arms will be supplied, he's acting like he's got nukes.

Read below.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/jesus-curse-fig-tree/

The tree is a deceiver. It was not yet season for it to produce fruits, yet it produced leaves just to deceive people from afar making them think it has fruits. That's why Jesus was angry at it.

Same thing goes for false Christians who aren't saved. They go to church, carry large Bible, act Christian but lack the fruit thereof.

Revelations 16:10-11 KJV
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

I believe the Coronavirus called a global pandemic by WHO is just here to convict mankind of their sinful ways so that they will have no excuse when God's wrath falls on them.

For years now, Churches in Europe have been empty. The only few people found in the large auditoriums that use to overflow with crowd are old people. It has grown worse that Churches are now being sold and converted to mosques.


This goes on while sports centers, Rock and Roll concerts and different worldly gatherings swelled with crowd.

With coronavirus fast killing many, those listed arenas have been shut down. Sporting events, concert, award shows, fashion parades, etc are getting postponed. Arenas that use to hold those events are now experiencing emptiness just as Churches have been.

I believe the coronavirus will soon be over. Guess what? When it's over, those arenas will return with buzzing activities while Churches will remain empty.

That is what happens when a people forget their God. Instead of them to see this as a sign of what's to come, they would rather harden their heart and have fun till disaster strikes.

Matthew 24:37-39 (KJV)
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

It is still the same God.

God appears toygh in the Old Testament for a reason which is especially for we existing today. He used the people of Old as an example of what he will do to we today if we toed the same path as they.

1 Corinthians 10:11 KJV
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

God who was tough then is still tough today, just pray you don't experience his anger.

If you really examine the Old Testament, you will see that it is not everyday he exercises his anger on mankind. But when you read the passages he did exercise his anger, you will think he did it everyday.

Do you really think he's not punishing the wicked and disobedient today? He is. If books were to be written about all those he has punished in our time, you will conclude that he's still the same God.

As for animal sacrifices, those sacrifices represented Jesus. When you sacrifice a lamb, the blood pays for your sins. The lamb was symbolic of Jesus who is said to be the Holy Lamb. He died and his blood pays for our sins.

Even your second picture says it all. The people in the Old Testament looked forward to Jesus and the cross while we today look back at the cross and the event.

They looked forward by sacrificing animals as a picture of what was to happen. We look back at the event which has happened, that's why we don't have to sacrifice animals because Jesus has been sacrificed once and for all.

Malachi 3:6 (KJV)
For I am the LORD , I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Good morning

GoodBoi1:

Funny enough I felt you would say something like this "there was gift of prophecies in the New Testament, that's cos everything was getting wrapped up then". Said who? God? I already know the scripture you will use to back up your claim, I'll wait. So should we say a gift that should serve in the body of Christ is "getting wrapped up"

[b] 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. [/b]

No place did it say it would get "wrapped up". Please read the above scripture carefully because by saying it is getting wrapped up you are removing an eye or a leg any other body part from the body of Christ.

Let us not limit God.

You like argument. Didn't I just show you that prophecy has to align with the word of God? Did Agabus say something contrary to what Jesus said will happen? It means his prophecy aligned with the word of Jesus.

Clearly, any prophecy today have to be in line with God's word in the Bible because God is not giving any new revelation. So, the prophecies in the church today are still same as of old because they must never contradict the Bible.

Isaiah 8:20 (KJV)
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

That's why all these 2020 prophecies are all lies, which explains why they are never accurately and precisely stated and never happen.

If you tell me the reign of the wicked in the world will end one day, I will be believe because it goes in line with the Bible. This is Church prophecy.

But if you tell me it will end on February 18, then you have lied because God never recorded such in his word. This is the basis of the lies we hear today where a white garment church priest of suit-wearing pastor will say "God told me that danger is coming your way from your mother's family".