PREPARE NOW!
We read in the scriptures about the prophecies of the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
Some have said He is not coming a second time. Some have said there is no Christ, He never existed, and some deny
that we are living in the last days. They give account for the turmoil, on wars, evil destruction and calamities, that are
felt around the earth as just a natural thing, a natural occurrence. If these disturbances were not coming so often, and
if people weren't being affected by them, it might be reasonable to think that way, but these things are happening before
our eyes, closer and closer together and more and more often.
People who seemed for a while at least, to be able to live side by side, with respect for each other has become
a thing of the past. Now people of different races and ethnic backgrounds are doing and saying horrible things, accusing
and cursing, arguing, fighting with words, fists flying and sometimes weapons fired, shows evil is all around us.
Families are crumbling, and falling apart instead of drawing together, which is what we need to do as a country.
The U. S. A., as a nation, has turned its backs on God and His Son, Jesus the Christ, who is the Savior of this world.
All over the world things are going wrong for the houses of Israel.
The Creator has foretold in the blessing and cursing chapter Lev 26: and Deut 28, that this very thing would
come upon the house Israel if they turned away from Him and His laws and statutes. “But if you do not obey Me, and
do not observe all these Commandments, And if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My Judgments, so that
you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror
[appoint terrorists] over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And
you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated
by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you” (Leviticus
26:14-16). God has made it clear that the houses of Israel sins have caused these curses. Man is not worthy to have the
guidance and direction given Him through the Holy Spirit. Our Lord does not strive with those who turn their backs
on Him.
Christians, throughout the world and ages, have looked forward to the second coming of Christ and they
continue to do so today. Those who are living, righteous, humble lives and believe in living the laws of God, look
forward to the day of His return. Whether in secret or with trumpets blaring the announcement of His coming.
Its during the 7th millennium we are told there will be singing and praising as the people fall on bended knees
before the living Jesus, the Christ, who atoned for the sins of all mankind. It is going to be the greatest experience of man
on earth. It will be a gratifying day for the righteous, it will be a dreadful day for those who have lived in wickedness
and have not repented of their sins. It will also be a dreadful day for those who have accepted Christ as their Savior,
and heard the gospel [good news] laid before them and then have turned away from eating from the tree of life God’s
word, to chose evil rather than good!
We know from the words of the prophets throughout the centuries that the second coming of Christ will happen,
but when, no one knows except for His Father. No man or enemy of God can stop it. They may just as well try to stop
the earth from turning! But we know it is not in man's power to do so.
Matthew 24, gives us Christ’ answer to that thought: “Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord
does come. Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh. But of that day
and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Mat 24: 42, 44, 36).
The dispensations of time. Man has from the beginning had these truths laid before them. Notice Ephesians
1:10, where Apostle Paul comments, “In the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all
things in Christ.” Each dispensation has been a time for men to prepare to meet Jesus, the Christ at His coming. Let
me explain what a dispensation is, and why it is important. A dispensation of the gospel is a period of time in which
the Lord has authorized at least one servant on earth at a time, to hold the office of a trusted servant and the keys to that
position enables him to pass along the gospel to the people on earth. Each time that happens, a new dispensation begins.
For example, notice some of the gospel dispensations of the past: the Bible suggests that the first dispensation began with
Adam, then Enoch, followed by Noah and onward with Abraham, Moses, the prophets and then Jesus with His apostles.
We just read of Paul in Ephesians speaking of the "dispensation of the fullness of times" in the Bible. This is
a time in which the Lord will gather together all things in Christ, that is to say, all things which are in heaven and on
earth. This dispensation is a time of restoration, and the fulfillment of God's plans and purposes given from the
beginning of the world. [Things that have been revealed, Things that are now being revealed, and Things that are yet,
to be revealed]. We are living in this, the last "dispensation of the fullness of times."
What connects these various dispensations, is God's plan of salvation; that has been taught in every one of
them. God’s plan had its beginnings even before the world was formed. He knew that He wanted His children to have
salvation available to them. It is interesting to note that each dispensation had its own unique purpose. With Adam, it
was to bring about a family which would grow into a larger and more encompassing family of mankind. Noah's
dispensation was a time for a portion of mankind to be saved from mans sinful destruction; namely the flood. Jesus made
the ultimate sacrifice of His life through His atonement and His ultimate death upon the stake at the garden of
Gethsemane, then through His resurrection, He made it possible for all mankind one day, in their called order to be
resurrected. This can also be seen as a dispensation because of its unique time and purpose.
This current dispensation of the fullness of time is the time we need to preparing ourselves for His return.
We must be like the five wise virgins that had their lamps filled with the purchased oil of truth. And were ready for the
coming of the Bridegroom.
In John 14, Jesus Christ comforts His disciples by announcing His coming for them, “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 unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1- 3).
God’s plan is being made for us now. What do we need to do to prepare for this welcoming event? Well, a good
place to start is to take a close look at our lives; to see where we are going and what kind of relationship we have with
our creator God. Have you- we, ever really taken the time to think about it? I mean, have we seriously taken an honest
look at our lives and the direction we are going? Now is the right time, because we do not know the time when our Lord
will come again, but knowing we are living in the last days.
This is not a doomsday prediction. It is simply a statement of the facts that are proven upon reading the
revelations written throughout the Bible. Will He be returning in secret? Or when the angels sound their trumpets, to
announce His coming, and the events unfold that are to take place at that time. Either time we need to be prepared to
meet Him with our lamps fully illuminating brightly, with the oil of truth, that the 5 foolish virgins were to go and buy.
Prov 23:23, “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” Ask yourself this
question: When was the last time I had a really good talk with my heavenly Father, and poured out my heart to Him?
Or to thank for all the blessings in my life? Or, are you agonizing over blessings He has not bestowed upon you
because things haven't really been going so great in your life. And you haven't exactly felt very happy with how things
are proceeding? Well, maybe things are not going the way you would like them to. But how about the fact that you
wake up every morning and find you are still alive, and breathing. You have a roof over your head, a place to rest each
night, food to eat no matter how meager. What about being able to smell the flowers, fresh cut grass, The freshness of
the earth after a rain, Feeling the fresh crispness of the cool fall air or hear the rustling of leaves that have fallen from
their branches, feel the warmth of the sun, and hear the birds singing and chirping. Do we feel truly blessed every time
we hear from our family, or hear we have a new healthy baby that has just been born into the family? We could go on
and on, but you get the picture. When looking around there must be a thousand things we take for granted. Like running
water, electricity, air conditioning, computers, cell phones, and a myriad of electronic gadgets. They have become a
part of our lives.
If we would look deeply we could find an amazing amount of blessings that we experience in our lives every
day. And many of them are listed in Deuteronomy 8, “Therefore you shalt keep the commandments of the Lord your
God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him. For the Lord your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of
water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees,
and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein you shalt eat bread without scarceness, You shalt not
lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig brass. When you have eaten and
art full, then you shalt bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you forget not
the Lord your God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command you this
day: Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when your herds and
your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; Then your heart
be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of
bondage.” “And it shall be, if you do at all forget the Lord your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and
worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyed before
your face, so shall you perish; because you would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God” (Deut. 8: 6-14,19-20).
There is an endless list of blessings if we would only take the time to look for them. Do you realize how many
people in the world have very few of the things just mentioned, even in these modern times? Do we need to give thanks
for all these things? If we think we don’t, then who do we think made it possible for us to have all these blessings? We
know, many were invented by men, but where did they get the knowledge to be able to invent them? God has given
man that intelligence to accomplish many things; some have simply increased that knowledge through diligent reading
and studying, but still the knowledge came from God. Most people don’t believe that God is the source of all
knowledge! Man takes credit for a lot of things, without giving God due credit for giving them the ability to create,
invent and make progress.
What does this have to do with the return of Christ? God does not ask a lot from us His called out ones. But
one thing He asks, is that we recognize His ways in our lives and that we come to Him with a repentant heart [repentant
attitude], and a determination to live by His commandments and obey the words of all His holy prophets from the
beginning of time, down to the present day. If we do this, we will be prepared for Christ’ return. But part of being
prepared is to have an attitude of gratitude, for all we have been given in our lives. Look and take an honest inventory
of the good things God has granted us. You may be surprised at just how much you do have to be thankful for.
Why should we, God’s called, be thinking about any of this? Well, because, if one is ready with purpose,
he or she will stand before God to be judged. When one stand before God to be judged, Jesus the Christ will be their
advocate; He will plead for them, pointing to His sacrifice that paid the price for their sins in order to satisfy the
demands of justice for those who “believe on Him, and His righteous laws.”
It is always sad to think that there will be those who stand before the judgment bar, who would not accept their
calling or bow to God’s ways in faith that searches for true repentance. It was through Jesus Christ’s atonement, that
He could be their advocate with the Father at that end day.
We must remember Christ took upon Himself the sins of all people during the times of dispensations, Christ
suffered for us, His called, but we must do our part to have the full benefit or effect of His atonement, to work for us
at the judgment day. If we pass our judgement, we will be changed to spirit beings at His coming, because we readied
ourselves to serve during His seventh millennial kingdom rule.
When reading God’s word, we can see the day of Christ's coming as a day of redemption for those who have
followed Him faithfully. It will also be the day in which shall commence the restoration or gathering of the dispersed
and scattered ten tribes of Israel.
As we look around us today we can see that we are living in a period of division and wickedness. Our daily news
today is filled with signs of distress, calamity and disasters in the world, even here in our own country. We see religious
people who don’t have a dire need to come before the Lord with full purpose of heart or with a willingness and
determination to do God’s will, or obey all the commandments and follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
the Christ?
God’s called have a responsibility to earnestly strive to become more like Him. So how can we become more
like our Lord? We can emulate the life He walked by being kind, loyal, compassionate, caring, loving, and forgiving.
Generous in giving of our time and talents and resources to help those in need, and never seeing ourselves as better than
those in need, but always willing when able to give a helping hand.
In Matt 25 verse 40, Jesus said, “That what we do unto the least of our brethren (or sisters) we do it unto Him.”
So, if we treat our fellow beings with kindness and compassion, it's as though we are doing it unto Christ. On the other
side of that coin if we treat our fellow beings with hate and disdain, we are, likewise treating our Lord of lords and King
of kings the same.
Of course there are those who do all or at least most of these things! Yet it may be well with them, if they would
think on these things and decide if they are going in the right direction so that Christ can be their advocate with the
Father when He comes again and stand before the judgment bar of God.
What are the signs that will tell us the coming of Christ is near at hand? One of the signs of the times leading
to is coming is the absence of unity, and harmony in this world like we have never seen before. It has been prophesied
that there would be “wars and rumors of wars” in the last days: does any of this sound familiar? There will be floods,
earthquakes, famines, plagues, pestilence, disease and death. There will be afflictions and desolating sickness that will
cover the earth. These are not pleasant things to look forward to, but when you look around they are becoming more
frequent.
Aren't we seeing these very things in various parts of the world? Haven't we seen some of them more frequently
in our own country? We don't have to look far to see the effects of the desolation and destruction that is spreading in
all parts of the world, instead of a unifying harmony and peace. We should fight against the evil in the world around
us. We see division within people and division in nations and in churches, with some giving into the whims of the
unrighteous Muslims ideology. We see the same thing happening within our Federal, State and local governments.
What will Christ do when He comes again to correct this problem? Notice Malachi 3:2- 3, “Who may abide the
day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And
He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver,
that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”
God is going to cleanse this earth by fire, destroying the wicked and corrupt. God will judge all nations and
separate the righteous from the wicked. John the Revelator wrote: in Rev 20: 4, “I saw the souls of them that were
beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The
wicked lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”
His coming will be the beginning of the thousand years, known as the 7th millennium, which is the period in
which He will reign on earth with His saints and establish His Fathers kingdom on earth. “And the Lord shall be king
over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name One” (Zech14:9).
Again in Revelation we see, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever”
(Rev 11:15 ).
When Christ came the first time, He was rejected by His own people and crucified between two thieves,
He was mocked and scourged. When He comes again after His wedding, He will not be rejected. (Luke 12: 35-36)
This time every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Christ who atoned for the sins of all
mankind. He will be called "King of kings, Lord of lords, wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father,
Prince of peace” (Isa 9:6).
My prayer is that many God has called will be prepared and ready to receive Him in all His glory, as King of
kings and Lord of lords ☜
James Russell
=========================================
THINGS THAT BRING BLESSINGS! // Deut 28
========================================
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe
and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above
all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and
overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed
shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the
fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and
blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up
against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven
ways.
8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon
thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee.
9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people
unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in
his ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art
called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in
goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the
LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good
treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in His season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou
shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not
the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments
of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the
left, to go after other gods to serve them.