Repent ── and Surrender to God!

Greetings to our Brethren, Friends, and Co-Workers in Forest City, N.C., Ashburn, VA., Sugar Land, TX., and Fayetteville, N.C. ── along with all our readers and listeners from around the world! Welcome! Welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries.

I’m taking some time to write articles related to repentance, the kingdom of God, and one I've just completed, titled “Sign of the Times.” And, as always, if you are moved by God’s Spirit to help us here at the ministry to proclaim the Gospel Message, please message me on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LeonardJohnson01/. And, I’ll be sure to get back to you. God Bless!

Once again, WHY IS IT that this world, as a whole, has not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, but a gospel about Christ? Let us today ── and we have several articles on this subject ── go through God’s living word to see WHAT gospel our Lord Jesus Christ did preach. What He taught His disciples, and the new customs of which He preached.

Our Master and Elder Brother Jesus Christ came to proclaim the kingdom of God, which is the government of God. The LORD God (the Elohim, the family of God, which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ). Truly, the rulership of God over us and our lives. And, it’s not just, as so many say, just “over our hearts.” They like to make an emotional sort of thing over this rulership that truly robs it of its real meaning.

So, our Lord Jesus called unto Himself twelve disciples together ── and by-the-by, He had chosen them. They hadn’t looked in the want ads or on Craigslist through the “jobs” section, looking for a job. The majority of the apostles were fishermen, including Andrew, Peter, James, and John. These men were skilled in the art of fishing, earning their living from the abundant waters of the Sea of Galilee. Our Lord Jesus called them away from their jobs, saying, “’ Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men’” And, they forsook everything ── their jobs, and in many cases their family and friends. They all followed Him. 

Well… our Lord Jesus went about all the cities and towns teaching in their synagogues ── what gospel message? The kingdom of God. “’ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” And He called unto Himself His twelve disciples and sent them forth – to do what? To proclaim the kingdom of God, and to “ ...‘make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; ...’” He also told them not to “ ...‘go into the way of the Gentiles, and not to enter a city of the Samaritans.’” “’ But to go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” – Matthew 10:5-6. Preaching, “’ THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.’” So, these ‘lost sheep’ were not the Jews that were there in Judah, but were rather the lost sheep of the TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL who had eventually migrated clear across to Europe by that time.

Notice verse 16 ── He was sending them out among the wolves. He was showing them that the grave condition of the world then, as they preached the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God, was a good deal like it is going to be in the latter days.

In Matthew chapter 24, the disciples had asked Him, “’ Tell us, when will these things be? …’” ── talking about the complete destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which did happen in 70 AD. “ …’ And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” – Matthew 24:3. And He proceeded to describe certain things to watch for – verses 4-29. 

It was the gospel of the kingdom of God, as taught by our Lord Jesus through God the Father, that the disciples came to preach (John 12:49); it wasn’t of their own making ── of Peter, Andrew, Matthew, John, James, and the others. It was certainly not any of the doing of the Apostle Paul that our Lord Jesus called him, because he had no intention ── no desire ── traveling to Damascus to persecute the brethren, having been struck down and blinded. Choosing him to be His vessel to bear His name before the Gentiles. And, having to greatly suffer for His name’s sake. 

It also wasn’t my will that the LORD God revealed the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God to me, and to go and proclaim this same gospel Message to you today. I wasn’t forced ── the LORD God chose me (cf. Matthew 6:10). And, when God revealed to me that it was His will, I answered the call. 

So, the disciples had asked Him how they could know when the end of the age would come, and what would be the sign of His Second Coming. First, He explained to them that there would come false ministers and false prophets ── but that wouldn’t be the end of the age, only the beginning. And this did begin to occur around 50 AD. And it got these false ministers and prophets some great prestige throughout the world ── some going onto a type of celebrity status. But what did all of them preach? They preached about Christ, they preached that “Jesus is the Christ.” They all preached a different gospel message, which is not another. They either denied or were ignorant of the Message that God the Father sent unto this world, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

I tell you, my friends, I warn you today by the authority of Jesus Christ, you had better WAKE UP! Because it surely is later than you might think. This is a work of God. And though several of our dearest of friends have come to be offended, and have betrayed me, and have come to hate me ── this is still a work of God Almighty! “’ He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’” Time is shortly approaching when the LORD God will send a famine upon the land ── a famine of hearing this gospel Message. This word of the Eternal One that God the Father sent by our Lord Jesus Christ. 

He Sent Out His Disciples

Notice the 11th chapter of Matthew ── 

“Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.” – vs. 1.

So, our Lord Jesus departed, and the twelve went on their way. The Apostle Mark’s account picks up, notice the 12th verse of Mark 6 ──

“So they went out and preached that people should repent.” 

And where did they go unto? The lost sheep of the house of Israel. What did they preach? Did they preach, “All you need to do is give your heart to the Lord, and you will be saved”? Was it, “Just accept the Lord Jesus”? Was it, “There are no works unto salvation”? Or, one that I heard being spewed by Oprah Winfrey, “Jesus isn’t the only way”? 

Well… all these are what they’re preaching to you today. Those are the messages you are receiving today. Our Lord Jesus said that many false ministers and false prophets – and even false teachers – would go throughout the world and deceive people, that they would go out saying that Jesus is the Christ, but they would be deceiving people with their messages. And, you have been hearing these messages since birth. Those, and many more surely, are what you’ve been hearing throughout the world, through this so-called Christianity. 

The disciples went out preaching what our Lord Jesus had instructed them, and what I’ve been covering with you here ── they went out preaching that men should repent. And, to repent, is to firstly acknowledge you have been wrong. Repent is to turn around and begin living your life God’s Way. But, repent of what? SIN. What is sin? It’s the transgression of God’s Law, summed up in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). The LORD God is Supreme Ruler! Yet, They created man a Free Moral Agent. And God’s purpose is to reproduce Himself. Each and every human being had to be a free, independent entity with a mind of their own. Which means that even God cannot and will not control your mind.

The LORD God ordained it that way, and the LORD God planned it that way. O, They could have created it another way ── that (and although some philosophers and scientists are arguing now amongst themselves) of a robot or AI, which has no free will. But, none of that was according to Their purpose; we were created to each have our own mind. GOD will not, as they like to say, cram His religion down your throat. You are free to make your own decisions. 

And, on that note, Satan the Devil cannot make you do anything you are not willing to do. He can, however, dial his transmitter that transmits waves of adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like to your mind. Because the LORD God has decreed that Satan the Devil may tempt us up to a point. But we are free to walk away (James 4:7).

Surrender to God

Mankind, since the very beginning, has had a spirit of enmity against God ── a deep-seated dislike or ill will, with even hatred or hostility ── a spirit of lawlessness, because mankind’s mind is not subject to the Law of God, nor indeed can be – cf. Romans 8:7. Mankind has rejected the holy and righteous Law and rule of the LORD God. 

When His disciples journeyed, teaching that all men are to repent, they meant to repent of man’s transgressions against the spiritual Law of God, and of their spirit of enmity against God. Because, if a person is to submit to the rule of God, it MUST be done voluntarily. If the LORD God is to rule your mind and heart, your life, the LORD God will only do it with your consent ── you, and you alone, must make that decision. THAT IS THE VERY FIRST THING THAT YOU MUST DO TO BE SAVED! The blood of our Savior Jesus Christ can have no effect whatsoever on you until you ── of your own accord ── repent. And, have earnestly decided to wholly surrender unto the LORD God and to let Them rule your life, your mind, your spirit, and every thought.

On that very day ── when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, 31 AD ── when these men from every nation under heaven had asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” they had been cut to the heart. They had heard the impassioned Spirit-inspired preaching of the Apostle Peter and had cried out, ‘What is the Way of salvation?’ Notice that he didn’t answer, ‘Well… you don’t have to do anything except just accept Christ, receive Him, and go and rejoice ── because, you’re already saved.’ I say, Nay Nay!

The Apostle Peter answered, “’ Repent [SURRENDER TO GOD], and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; …” – Acts 2:38.

And, I want you to be aware that you cannot be properly baptized until you believe ── with all your heart, mind, and spirit. Because I want you to notice, when the Evangelist Philip had been sent out by an angel of the Lord to the travelling Ethiopian eunuch, who had asked, “’ See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’” Philip’s response was, “’ If you believe with all your heart, you may.’” – Acts 8:36, 37. So, the Ethiopian eunuch had already repented, so Philip was teaching him that he must believe. As the Apostle Paul speaks of in the Book of Hebrews ──

“ … for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6. 

The Prophet Isaiah ── one of God’s prophets of whom the Church of God is founded and built upon ── because, in the Book of Ephesians you’ll see that the Church is built on the foundation of the prophets, the apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself – the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). And so the Prophet Isaiah helps show us the Way to salvation.

So, all the early apostles journeyed out preaching the gospel from the Old Testament, because that was all they had. And, here it is ── here is the Way of salvation as the Prophet Isaiah was inspired to record for us ── 

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” 

FIRST AND FOREMOST, you have to seek the LORD God if you are ever going to find Them. Because, it isn’t, that all you need to do is go through some kind of human ritual – some kind of church service, shedding tears, showing the congregation that you are “righteous” by going to the front of the pews and using a kneeler, with your hands clasped together in a prayer ── and then wake up the following day and never give it another thought, a type of anterograde amnesia.

I have asked several people ── one being a 15-year-old grand-niece ── what did you do when you ‘gave your heart to the Lord’? And she answered, ‘I don’t know, my step-grandmother wanted me to be baptized.” It didn’t mean a thing ── it was just something she did to stop her step-grandmother from harping on her. My dear friends, it gets so much deeper than any of that.

How are you going to find the LORD God? “Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him RETURN to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” – Isaiah 55:6-7. You must forsake your way. You’ll have to forsake your wrong way that ── as my wife has famously said to me, “being bad feels so good!” ── Well… the way you love and cherish, the way that you think is right.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” – Proverbs 16:25.

The LORD God will give you a pardon when you forsake your way ── and you sin no more. A sinner is one who transgresses the Law of God. 

 The Lord looketh on the heart 

Truly, the LORD God will not hear a sinner. Notice the Book of Romans, chapter 8 ──

“So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Romans 8:8. 

A sinner is cut off from the LORD God; however, you cease being a sinner when you heartfelt repent. A repentant person is no longer a sinner. As long as they don’t break the spiritual Law, are not antagonistic to the LORD God, and are no longer disobedient. Of course, you won’t be able to stay obedient to the LORD God without the glorious Holy Spirit within you, within your innermost being.

The LORD God looks on the heart ── and a repentant man’s heart is no longer a sinner. But, he isn’t in a saved condition yet. He must be justified. He must still be reconciled to God the Father. He has to be justified, because his past sins are still hanging over his head and separating him from God and from God’s Spirit. The Law of God has come over him, and he is UNDER LAW, because he broke the Law ── and the penalty is death. 

But here is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He took our sins upon Himself and paid the ultimate penalty for us. And He will give us ── not a piece of paper in the mail ── but an absolute stamp of forgiveness. Paid In Full. And He paid it by giving His life instead of ours. By His blood – and His blood was His life. 

 … and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

So, the disciples journeyed out preaching that all men should repent ── which means to surrender unto the LORD God. What else? Well… you have to accept that our Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. What else? There is another thing, but it is the LORD God that does this. Because the LORD God promises. The gift of the Holy Spirit. He places within you THE LOVE OF GOD SHED ABROAD IN YOUR HEART. And God’s Spirit doesn’t stay stagnant within you. It must move, it must flow out from you like rivers of living waters. In OBEDIENCE, IN REVERENCE, IN THE WORSHIP OF SPIRIT AND TRUTH, IN RESPECT!

That’s how you love the LORD God! “’ If you love Me, keep My commandments.’” – John 14:15.

Now I have a sermon for you to watch. “God’s Master Plan – From the Beginning.” It’s an important sermon; it pulls back the curtain that is in front of you and helps show you that the LORD God is working out a Plan down here below!

Until next time, this is Leonard V Johnson saying, “God Speed.”               

Sign of the Times

photo: dilsadakcaoglu (pixabay)

by Leonard V Johnson

It’s been nearly seven months since the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the “Doomsday Clock” to “89 seconds to Midnight”! I’ve mentioned this “clock” several times since 2019. This world is in trouble, as it never has been before. And, as I spoke about in our last article, this world is saturated with appalling evil the likes of which I have not seen in my nearly 5½ decades! Where is this world now? Where is this world headed? What is going to happen to this world in the coming years? 

Truly, it’s only within God’s living word, through His prophecies, that you can know WHERE WE ARE and WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. It’s not through the likes of the famous Nostradamus ── of whom my wife is enthralled with ── or any of his kind. God’s living word is nearly 1/3 prophecy, another 1/3 being history ── providing for us the history of this world. Its civilizations and kingdoms. In our online booklet “Who or What Is the BEAST That Rises Up Out of the Sea?” I go over the four great prophesied empires. Of Babylon, the Medo/Persian Empire, the Greco/Macedonian Empire, and the Roman Empire. What was called the “Holy” Roman Empire, which continued even to 554 AD, that had six separate dynasties. And the fact that there will come a 7th revival of a final “Holy” Roman Empire within a “United States of Europe.” 

As many of our readers are aware, God’s living word provides for us a chronology of history, and of what is leading up to the end of this present evil age. And you do need to understand it ── so as not to be caught unaware. But, where are we right now in world events, as depicted by the LORD God in biblical prophecy?

Are We In 'the Beginning of Sorrows'?

As I had mentioned, many are arguing amongst themselves and others that we are in our Lord Jesus’ time of “’ the beginning of sorrows.’” What do you think? Has ‘nation rose against nation, and kingdom against kingdom’ to the degree that we believe our Lord Jesus was speaking about? ── cf. Daniel 11:40-43. Have ‘famines, pestilences, and earthquakes’ occurred to the degree that our Lord Jesus was speaking about? Do you think our Lord Jesus was just talking about some of the worst famines throughout our history ── like the Great Chinese Famine that occurred between 1959 and 1961, which killed 15–55 million people? Or, the Chalisa Famine? Or, the Bengal Famine of 1770? Or, the Great Famine of Ireland?

What about ‘earthquakes in various places’? Was our Lord Jesus speaking about earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 3.0 on the Richter scale? Or, was He speaking of massive earthquakes occurring towards the end of this present evil age in various places around the globe? Because, logically, we have had earthquakes in various places throughout Earth’s existence for millions of years. Many will argue that there has been an increase in earthquakes, and earthquakes larger than 8.0 are increasing. Peter Shearer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Philip Stark at the University of California, Berkeley ── two people who surely know what they’re talking about ── say, no. They discovered that while the frequency of magnitude 8.0 and higher earthquakes has been slightly elevated since 2004, at a rate of about 1.2 to 1.4 earthquakes per year, the increased rate was not statistically different from what one might expect to see from random chance. 1 What we believe and teach is something akin to what our Lord Jesus said, “ …’ and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26) men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, …’” – Luke 21:25, 26. So, He is talking about MASSIVE EARTHQUAKES THE LIKES OF WHICH THIS EARTH HAS NOT EXPERIENCED BEFORE OCCURRING IN VARIOUS PLACES!

Are we at the time right now, explained to us by our Lord Jesus in chapter 24 of the Book of Matthew, the 9th verse─The arrival of His witnesses? They will come on the scene preaching and announcing the soon-coming kingdom of God to the captured and subjugated modern-day nations of Israel! They will be given power by the LORD God “to shut heaven [the atmosphere], so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy [of which they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days]; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire” – Revelation 11:6; see also Revelation 8:7 12.

For they will be proclaiming and warning of the soon-coming kingdom of God throughout “’ the world, as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.’” – Matthew 24:14.

It's About the Kingdom of God!

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came preaching “the gospel of the kingdom of God” – Mark 1:14. The exact same kingdom that the end-time prophets will be preaching about! And, it’s not any gospel that you might hear being preached on one of these Sunday morning “gospel” channels. It’s the kingdom of God! 

What is meant by, kingdom of God? We read in God’s living word of the ancient kingdom of Israel, also called the House of Israel. The kingdom is divided into two kingdoms. So, there was also the kingdom of Judah. In fact, the Jews were of the kingdom of Judah. Many people are unaware of this fact. The kingdom of Israel was not Jews – they never were. Ancient Israel was at war against the Jews for the first time, and this is mentioned in 2 Kings chapter 16 ── “At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.” – 2 Kings 16:6, KJV. Then there is also what was called the kingdom of Babylon and the Persian kingdom. Then there was the kingdom of Germany. So, then, what is meant by, kingdom of God?

Well… we see in Isaiah chapter 9 of One that was to be born of the kingdom of Israel ── “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And THE GOVERNMENT will be upon His shoulder. … 7) … Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, …” – Isaiah 9:6-7. This Child that was to be born was our Lord Jesus Christ! – see: John 1:14. The government – the kingdom – would be upon His shoulder.

In the Book of Luke, the archangel Gabriel appeared before His mother-to-be, Mary. Before He was conceived. And told her that she would ‘conceive in her womb and would bring forth a Son, and that she should call His name JESUS.’ Mary was a virgin who had not known a man, but was impregnated by God’s Spirit, and the Child that would be born of her would be the Son of God ── the coming Messiah of all mankind! And, as He was asked, “Are You a king then?’” Answering within the praetorium to the Roman governor of Judea, “’ You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I have come into the world, …’” – John 118:37. The soon-coming kingdom of God from heaven would be upon His shoulder. He came preaching this kingdom. But, this kingdom is not upon the Earth today – except within the Body of Christ.

Our Master and Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus, gave parables ── as an example, the 19th chapter of the Book of Luke, called the parable of the pounds. Also, the parable in the 25th chapter of the Book of Matthew – called the parable of the talents. They both speak in parables of what our Lord Jesus did and will do; as a young nobleman who had traveled to a far country, to receive for Himself a kingdom, and to return and to be a King.

Many believe that God’s living word says, “You shall observe Sunday.” What do you believe? Does it? How do you know? Have you ever seen it in God’s living word? “Surely,” you reason amongst yourself, “all the churches observe Sunday because they get this out of God’s word, right?” Well… over 43 years ago, I found that they don’t. 

When I began studying God’s living word ── which is the Holy Bible ── in depth for the first time some 44 years ago, I began with a most profound question that was given to me, “Stop and think! Would a Creator, having supreme intelligence, wisdom, and love, to think out, plan, design, and bring about all creation - this earth and all life upon it - have left human beings in ignorance of His purpose?” I began to have my eyes and ears opened. I learned that our Lord Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God, and about Him coming again as King of kings and Lord of lords! That was His glorious message. That is the gospel. Have You Heard the True Gospel?          

Our Lord and Savior was sent to Earth about 2,029 years ago by God the Father as a Messenger to bring the glorious message of the gospel. Why is it that this message isn’t preached in Protestant and Catholic churches? Why don’t they? 

Also, our Lord Jesus said that He would build His Church. And He did, having called 12 disciples. He came as a Savior and as a future King. He was crucified, and He died. And that by shedding His precious blood, He paid the death penalty in your stead and my stead. IF you REPENT and are properly baptized, having hands laid upon you, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit ── turning to the LORD God and the Way of God, keeping and obeying the Law of God (summed up with the spiritual Ten Commandments). 

It was the glorious kingdom of God that our Lord Jesus was announcing! Indeed, the apostles journeyed far and wide, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Now, listen ── why was it that they crucified our Lord and Savior? And He did come knowing that He would have to die. God knows all things (cf. Psalm 147:5; 1 John 3:20). Of course, those who did this most horrible thing didn’t know that. But why was it that they crucified Him? It was because of His Message! They didn’t like the Message of the soon-coming government of God. It threatened them ── it threatened their power. They crucified Him because of what He was preaching. Truly, if He came with His head shaved, prancing around and handing out flowers, spouting off the mantra, “Hare Krishna … Krishna, Krishna!” ── they would have just thought He was another fringe cult and would have left Him alone. But, it was His Message they hated and were threatened by! It was His Message, and let me tell you, there are plenty of people in my life ── even within my own family ── who don’t like me because I preach and announce the very same gospel that our Lord and Savior preached when He was here on Earth in the first century AD. I tell you this with the authority of Jesus Christ Himself. His Message is not wholly accepted today. Because this world as a whole has turned to a different gospel, which is not another.  

His Church – the Body of Christ – began immediately after our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into the upper heavenly realms. And He gave His life for you and for me. That if we REPENT and are properly baptized, having hands laid upon us, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit ── turning to the LORD God and the Way of God, keeping and obeying the Law of God. And God’s spiritual Law is merely the Way to live. And if we live the Way of God’s Law, the Way of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Way of Unity in faith. A concern for the welfare of other people, more than yourself. Why can’t humanity as a whole WAKE UP? Why can’t the scales of blindness melt from our eyes and begin to rightly understand God’s living truth? If only mankind as a whole would understand. And we could rightly understand it if one is willing. And, let us thank God Most High that most of you reading this right now are willing and do rightly understand!

A Different Gospel - Which Is Not Another

So, our Lord Jesus ascended to the upper heavenly realms. And then, almost immediately, grave persecution set in on the Church of God. Within about two years, persecution set in and grew rapidly. Again, because people DON'T LIKE the Message of the soon-coming kingdom of God. They want a kingdom run by men, influenced heavily by Satan the Devil. And so, there was a magician that rose up in the first century, and created his own church ── some 1,992 years ago.

Now, should the gospel be a message about Christ the Messenger? Or, should it be the Message that He brought? Because, truthfully, people want to get rid of that Message. They want to merely preach ── and this, too, I had mentioned in an earlier article ── they want to merely preach that, “Jesus loves you!” And so you hear a lot about “the Gospel of Christ.” But that is not the gospel of Christ. It’s a misnomer. It’s not the gospel of Christ, it is but a gospel about Christ. So, beginning around 50 AD, we have a church calling itself Christian, but it is not the Church that our Lord Jesus Christ started. It’s an entirely different church that has continued down through the centuries, even unto today. And they are still preaching a gospel about Christ! “’ Take heed that no one deceives you. 5) For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.’” – Matthew 24:4, 5. O’ yes. They proclaim that He is the Christ. And they preach – just believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Well… notice what our Lord Jesus said to those Jews in the Book of John, the 8th chapter, who just believed in Him. “’ If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32) And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” – John 8:31, 32. They believed in Jesus Christ, but they wouldn’t accept His Message. And, even today, most Jews believe Jesus was a good prophet, who didn’t abandon the Jewish law, but they continue to reject His Message. Our Lord Jesus went on to say to those Jews, “’ If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.’” – vs. 42. They claimed they were the children of Abraham. He said, “I say, Nay Nay.” “’ You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.’” – vs. 44.

So, quickly returning again to Matthew 24. In verses 21 & 22, we find a time of untold chaos and ‘tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.’ And it is going to be especially troubling for JUDAH – modern-day Israel. Along with the United States of America and her Anglo-Saxon allies. And surely, we can see the sign of the times. The time is ripe for all these things to take place. And, ‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; …’” ── certainly an indication that the atmosphere will be thick with volcanic ash towers or even radioactive dust and ash! “ … ‘the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’” - Satan and his demons will be expunged from the atmosphere of the earth. Remember one time Jesus said, “’ I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’”? There will be a great spiritual war, we’re told in the Book of Revelation – Michael, the great archangel, and all of his subordinate angels will directly engage in spiritual warfare with Satan and his demons. And Michael and all the holy angels will be victorious! And Satan will be vanquished to the earth. And I think that’s what this passage here is talking about.

It's time to awaken! And then… “ …’ the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven [in outer space], … and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven [the atmosphere] with power and great glory.’” – Matthew 24:29-30. Coming as King of kings and Lord of lords to rule all nations with a rod of iron. 

Now, there is a free, no-obligation online booklet I would like to tell you about today. Why is the world in the condition it is today? How did this world get this way? I’d like you to read our booklet, “Satan’s World.” It explains how this world came to be in the utterly sinful condition in which we find ourselves today. I pray that it will help open your eyes and ears to what the Spirit has to say. “Satan’s World.”    

And let us always praise the Almighty God! Nearly 330,000 have read 0ur articles published on our website so far – www.churchofjesuschristonlineministries.org. Yes, people are hearing and people are listening! Nearly 2,000 people are listening to our Soundcloud Radio channel – so far! Be sure to read, “A ‘Secret Rapture’?” Will there be a “rapture” – a snatching away of the saints before, what the Bible calls an end-time ‘tribulation’? Also, here’s one, “Wars and Rumors of Wars.” Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has prophesied that all throughout this present evil age there would be ‘wars and rumors of wars’ before the coming dreadful and terrible Day of the Lord – the ‘great tribulation.’ The Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries goes into world news and helps explain it according to Biblical prophecy, so that you can better understand what is truly happening in the world. Here’s one from Minister Guy LaMar, “Saturday Sabbath with Jews and Sunday with Gentiles?” Why do the churches observe Sunday? Do you know why? You'd better read that. And an article that takes you step-by-step through the coming terrible events, “The Prince of Peace Is Coming!” □  

1) Conners, D., Are large earthquakes increasing in frequency?, EarthSky, 4 March 2012