Welcome! I hope you are looking for some fresh Tribulation Speculation! This may not compete with, what is in my opinion, the greatest of all times  SPECULATION - The Left Behind series. But I do hope you find a bit of challenging entertainment and a few new ideas to think about. A word to the wise about any links. I endorse none of them. I hope you can avoid the Rabbit Trails.

Is This Really The End Times?

Our world is crazy and getting crazier by the minute. Just over the course of the last one hundred years there have been many doomsday prophets warning us of Messiah’s return and the judgements that will fall upon the world. Numerous books have been written about the subject. There are even plenty of end-of-days or doomsday movies. Speculation abounds! How would we even know that the end is soon? The Word of God gives us plenty of signs of the end.

Daniel 12:4 | “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end when many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

MANY | The world’s population In 1994 reached the point that there were as many people alive at that time as had ever lived on the earth up to that time. The world’s population in 1994 was 6 billion. By 2022 the world population was 8 billion. It has been steadily increasing. There can be no argument that MANY defines the state of our planet

TO AND FRO | travel has become a global enterprise today. It is possible to go from one side of the world to the other in 24 hours or so. Travel has increased on a world wide scale. There are personal vehicles in abundance. People drive on a daily basis and often on lengthy trips. We have airplanes, trains, buses, ships, submarines. There are all kinds of vehicles to move us from continent to continent and even into outer space.

KNOWLEDGE SHALL INCREASE | From 1900 to 1958 the worlds knowledge began to double every ten years until 1995 when that rate increased explosively. The amount of knowledge doubled six times in 2010. That is the last year they had a printed volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica. The print version was discontinued in favor of an online version because new knowledge made the printed version obsolete before it could even be produced. At no other time in human history has so much been known of the world we live in and the heavens around us!

2 Peter 2:3 | knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lust….

SCOFFERS WILL COME | Every age has had its fair share of people who scoff; who mock those who warn of judgment. But in these days we are seeing more of those who make fun of or mock righteousness, wisdom and goodness. We see scoffers of good things, who call good evil and evil as if it were good. There are those in leadership as well as everyday people who choose their own lust and desires over and above anything else. They scoff or dismiss anyone who tries to hold them accountable.

Matthew 24:1-3, 12-14 | Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?… And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

LAWLESSNESS WILL ABOUND | Look around you! The whole world is experiencing an explosion of violence and crime. Our cities have become fearful places. Random violence has become a normal occurance in today’s society. Looting, smash and grab and rioting that causes significant physical, financial and personal losses are reported daily by our news sources. Blatant disregard of our laws is seen in our judicial system allowing criminals the opportunity to repeat multiple offenses. and as a result-

THE LOVE OF MANY WILL GROW COLD | We see daily reports of unprovoked attacks, human trafficking, sex offenders. The overwhelming loss of human kindness toward one another that is a significant sign of the end-of--days.

PREACHED IN ALL THE WORLD AS A WITNESS | In the last 150 years the gospel has indeed been preached through out the world. Many have received it joyfully. Many have rejected it. As it stands this day many have heard but the number of those who believe has rapidly declined as the world turns its back on the Creator of all creation. The coming tribulation will demonstrate that there is a God in heaven and that we are His witnesses that He is!

Isaiah 43:12-13 | It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And I am God. Even from eternity I am He, And there is no one who can rescue from My hand; I act, and who can reverse it?”

Isaiah 66:8 | “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion(Israel) travailed, she brought forth her children.”

THE REBIRTH OF ISRAEL | On May 14, 1948, Chairman David Ben-Gurion declared the re-establishment of the State of Israel, the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. In June of 1967, 19 years later, Islamic armies surrounded the newborn state of Israel and attacked from all sides. Greatly outnumbered by tens of thousands of arabic troops, the much smaller Israeli forces miraculously defended their nation, and recaptured the city of Jerusalem in six days! They retained all of the land they had reclaimed and regained more of their God appointed land from which they had been exiled for thousands of years! This fulfillment of biblical prophecy is very significant for the people of Israel as well as for Christians.

Revelation 13:2, 4-6 | Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority…. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

IS THERE A PERSON in our world who could fit the description of the antichrist (the beast)? Someone whose heraldic coat of arms bears the above description? Someone whose investiture into the royal line included the dragon as the source of power? Yes!!!! For just one resource look at the book “The Antichrist and a Cup of Tea” by Tim Cohen. Search the web. The person who is most likely the antichrist is real and walks amongst us this day! (For more information on these signs see the additional references and websites below)

Matthew 24 | Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”… For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened

Why the Tribulation?

God has given us a truly awesome gift called free moral agency or better known as the right to choose. Every living person has the right to think their own thoughts, make their own moral decisions and act on those thoughts and decisions. God wants us to choose how we should live and especially what or who we should worship. The world we live in is full of people who live backwards producing much evil and chaos. Our times are over ran with death, pain, sorrow, sickness and cruelty. We really only have two choices when it is all said and done. We either choose to live by the life giving standards of righteousness or we choose to live in a way that produces death. The standards of human moral behavior have deteriorated to the point that we now live in a narcissistic world and the lines between what is good and what is destructive have blurred to the point that evil is not seen as wrong. Our ability to judge our own actions as good or evil is sadly lacking as parents, teachers, preachers and other leaders continue to blur the lines between right and wrong. The majority of people on this earth worship their own opinion and the idols of self will and self-gratification while never acknowledging the One who has created them and offers them instruction in right behavior.

Luke 10:27 | So he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 6:31 | …just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

We do have a choice. But very few people actually link consequences to the choices we make. We more often than not blame the consequences of our choices on other people, time and chance, or unfair treatment, among the many other excuses that we make when we don’t like the consequences of our choices. A large part of denying God’s presence and involvement in the happenings of this world is wrapped around avoiding consequences. It is so much easier to deny God’s existence than it is to see that we have brought consequences upon ourselves. That being said, here is the short version of Why the Tribulation? For human beings to survive we need a major course correction! As a whole the population of this world has chosen the lawless pursuit of their own selfishness rather than accepting and living by a lawful standard for human life. Do any of us doubt the consequences of lawless society? God has set the standards of right living and He will judge the world to restore that rightness.

1 Corinthians 4:5 | Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

2 Corinthians 5:10 | “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 

Matthew 12:36-37 | But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

2 Timothy 4:1 | I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his manifestation and his Kingdom

Revelation 20:11-15 | “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 | “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

It really doesn’t matter if you believe that God exists or not. It is your right to choose what you believe. But the end of the matter is very simple - our thoughts about God does not affect His existence or His power. There are so many arguments and thought processes about God’s existence that we could spend years of our human existence arguing about it, which is pointless. This conclusion brings us to another reason why the tribulation will happen. As surely as Egypt learned who God was through the Ten Plagues and the Exodus of the Israelites so will the same thing be accomplished in these end times with these unbelieving people. Truth be told even those who say they believe in God will be surprised at the revealing of Who our God actually is. God will make Himself known!

Isaiah 43:10-13 | “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you. Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the Lord, “that I am God. Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?”

Surviving the End Times

The theory of the rapture removes all believers and innocents from the tribulation. There is also the likelihood of myriads of careless deaths caused by crashing planes and vehicles and other circumstances. It leaves millions of people subject to all the disasters and hard times that are coming to us after (if) the rapture occurs. These people are left at the mercy of an oppressive world government with little knowledge and few teachers to give them any hope of salvation. They are hopelessly left behind to suffer oppression, thirst, hunger, deprivation and torture. Many will turn and take the mark of a ruler whose empty promises of provision will only bring further misery. Does this sound like the God of mercy - the God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that all should be saved and that none should perish? GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION!  The doctrine of the Rapture leaves behind a lot of chaos and confusion. 

Would you consider another possibility? A possibility where not only are you protected but so are your sons and daughters - your family. Not only you and your family but also those to whom you witness and who see how you are saved. NONE are left behind! God knows exactly who is on His side and who is not. He is the only One capable of truly knowing what you believe about Him. There is a God in Heaven Who knows the End of this situation even from the very Beginning. Would you consider that this God of Mercy has a plan to protect you as well as proclaim His power and glory to a world that refuses to acknowledge Him? History repeats itself. You can see that multiple times in multiple ways, especially when you step back and look at world history. God has a plan. His plan is not chaos or confusion or abandonment! He has set a precedent. He is going to repeat the First Exodus which in its own right was a world impacting event.

Jeremiah 23:7-8 | “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought the sons of Israel up from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up and led the descendants of the household of Israel back from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’

Isaiah 11:11-12 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 46:8-11 | “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you wrongdoers. Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My plan will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a distant country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will certainly do it.

We are promised not only our salvation but such a great multitude of new end time believers that we can’t even count them. (Rev.7:9-14) We are promised deliverance through the frightening disasters coming to judge the earth. We are given the honor of bearing witness to the Glory, Righteousness, Power and Mercy of our God and His great Love and willingness to save us. We will be blessed with the privilege of training to become people of God’s Kingdom. The First Exodus impacted one of the greatest nations at that time in history and devastated it. Every nation that encountered the Hebrews as they journeyed through the wilderness learned who the God of the Hebrews was. (Josh.2:9-11) The End of Days is coming no matter if we believe or not. The coming times will be more frightening, more glorious, awe inspiring, impacting and devastating than the First Exodus. The Tribulation Exodus - the Greater Exodus, will affect so much more! Only in these end times the world has immediate, widespread communications. The whole world will be watching! Can you imagine what world governments and leaders will think of a people who can not be touched by their efforts to destroy them? God will fight for us! His unmerited Favor is for us! What an impact it will make on the whole world to see that those people under God’s protection will have food and water. We will not suffer drought and famine. We will not suffer the pestilence and disease that will be so prevalent in the cities. He will bring us from all across the earth. He will gather us to experience many of the same miracles of protection and provision seen in the First Exodus. He will make a way for us through all of the Tribulation! Do you believe in God? Especially the God who is in the business of Salvation? Your salvation? Do you have confidence in His Plan? Read for yourself His plainly spoken words of what He will do.

Isaiah 43:1-3, 5-7 | But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth— Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”

Joel 3:16 | The Lord also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Now you have a new and different end time scenario to consider. I’ve seen theories about a rapture and about a tribulation where we barely or most likely won’t survive. How about an Exodus story? How about a story of God gathering His people and escorting them through the wilderness of the end times? Can you imagine a better plan for surviving this tribulation of judgement that the world is rapidly bringing upon itself? What plan can you conceive that is more fascinating than the one where He leaves NO ONE BEHIND but gathers His people together from all the ends of the earth and trains them as citizens and leaders of His Kingdom? A plan where we are very visibly supernaturally protected and provided for in a way that the whole world will see. A plan where we are given the opportunity to be His witnesses and see saved an innumerable amount of people. People who won’t be left behind. This very plan is laid out in its entirety in the story of the first exodus. The First Exodus is a blueprint for the Tribulation Exodus. Numerous scriptures speak of the “Greater Exodus”***- a Tribulation Exodus - that assures us our God is in control and we are His witnesses to this dying world that He is the Savior! It is to His power and glory to rescue and deliver us. Yes, there will be those who suffer persecution and death but there will also be those who “escape, endure and survive”*** the tribulation and come out on the other side a Kingdom ready people refined by the fire and testifying to God’s Holiness, Love and Mercy! 

Let me add a small but very important perspective here. The theory of the Rapture is based on a single focus - PROTECTION. No one wants their lives and families exposed to hard times and oppression! BUT how many of us are willing to consider that God’s protection may not include our wants but only our needs? Not our luxuries but our necessities. How many of us are willing to consider that our opinions and our theology will NOT protect us? Please consider that your theology and opinions will most likely not agree with God but may actually lead you away from the protection God has for you and directly into the hands of the enemy. Agreement with a preacher, pastor or leader will not save you! SO- when the Mercy of God puts you in a place to protect you, are you going to let your opinions and theologies separate you from that protection because it is not happening according to what or how you think it should?? 

The biggest battle you will face in these end times is the battle for your mind and what you believe. If the enemy can convince you that all hope is lost then despair will accomplish it’s work in you. You must choose to fight against the darkness and have the faith our Messiah is looking for when He returns. How you act is based on what you believe - on your faith!

Luke 18:8 | However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Exodus 14:13-14 | And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

John 17:15 | I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

The challenge to stand still and trust in the midst of chaos (personal or national) is the training ground of both the first Exodus and the Tribulation Exodus. The Tribulation Exodus is not just about our personal salvation. This is where we learn the way to “stand still and see the Salvation of God. This is BOOT CAMP for the Kingdom of God. This is the arena where each of us will grow in wisdom, understanding, and ability. The Tribulation Exodus is where He makes us into the people of His Kingdom. People who have learned how essential the Law is to our freedom from sin and death. People who are willing to dwell in peace and righteousness. Our God rescues us and shows the world Who He is. During the Tribulation Exodus He begins to implement His governmental structure for the Promised Land. The Tribulation Exodus is where He writes His Law in our hearts. His Law that structures His government for the Millennial Kingdom. The New Covenant - the Law that He writes in our hearts- is more than a theological concept. It is the same Law that He established to teach a nation of rebellious slaves how to walk in liberty. It is the same Law that teaches us right behavior. His Law is the reality that brings peace. For a Kingdom to come into existence you need three principal things: 1) territory, 2) people, and 3) laws. The Tribulation Exodus, the Greater or Second Exodus, is where He prepares the foundation of the Millennial Kingdom where Jesus will reign with the 144,000 and the Saints to be leaders and captains in His coming Kingdom. 

Let me ask you a few questions. Who do you think God’s people are? Who does the word “Israel” apply to? You? Are you willing to be trained to become God’s servant? Read on in the next section to answer that question!

Do you know where in the Word of God the New Covenant is first mentioned? Based on the viewpoint that the first mention of a topic in the Bible provides definition there is a surprising story to read in the whole chapter of Jeremiah 31 and in Hebrews 8:10.

Rapture or Exodus?

Does what you believe make a difference?

There is a very good possibility that some of the most important questions you will have to answer about the end times will be about the Rapture. These questions may also have the greatest impact on your faith. So here are some questions for you to think about — Can you even find the word Rapture in the Bible? How many scriptures support the Rapture event? Is the Rapture how God will rescue His people? 

Truthfully what we believe will have little impact on the entire tribulation. But what we believe will have an impact on how we face the end times. Will we still have faith in Yeshua - Jesus as our Savior? Will we still trust the King of Glory to deliver us? Will we still hold fast to our faith in God if what we think will happen doesn’t happen the way we thought it would?

Let us remember the lesson in the First Exodus as Moses commanded the Israelites when they stood trapped between Pharaoh and the Red sea. When you are confronted with the impossible choice of serving the enemy or dying for your beliefs, what is your confidence in? When everything around you is swirling chaos and fear, what will you do? Are you going to stand in faith and confidence no matter the difference in your doctrinal beliefs and what actually happens? Will you trust Jesus no matter the outcome of your life? Are you going to trust that there is a God in Heaven Who defines right from wrong and He sees every injustice? Do you believe that He WILL save you? Do not let fear rule your mind. Instead stand still and believe in the salvation that is coming. Open your eyes and look! The signs are all around you.

Messianic, Christian, Jew, Gentile, Slave, Free, Male, Female, Believer or UnBeliever

Who are the people of God? Who are the ones that are His witnesses? Who are the ones that declare His glory, His mercy, His salvation? Who are those that He will gather from the four corners of the earth? When God’s word speaks of the Children of Israel or the Kingdom of Israel do those terms exclude any of us who believe in the Creator God? Why would it be important to identify yourself as one of the Children of Israel or even as a Child of the Promise? Do those terms apply to all who believe in the work of redemption accomplished by the Son of God?

Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

We believe in the same God - the same Creator; the same Savior! We are saved the same way - by faith. We are all called by His grace and mercy. We read the same Word that He has given for instruction in righteousness. We are of the same family- grafted in (Rom.11:17) or natural born children of Abraham, the father of our faith. Abraham, who set the example of believing what God said to him despite physical circumstance, of patiently enduring even those things that tested his faith. Abraham, the man to whom God had made a promise - to make him the father of many nations! We are Children of that Promise because we have faith like Abraham, we believe like Abraham who believed despite any physical evidence to the contrary.

Romans 4:16-22 | …but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Galatians 3:26, 29 | For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus… And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise

 I would like to challenge my brethren. What is your faith based on?

Abraham based his faith on God. Abraham did not allow even the evidence of his or Sarah’s physical bodies to sway his belief in God’s promise. Abraham believed the WORDS of God as the truth his faith and his life were founded on. Do you follow the example that Abraham set for his family? Do you believe the word of God or do you believe a man’s opinion of God’s word as the foundation of your faith?

Romans 10:17 | So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We are a family. All of us that believe in the work of Jesus. All of us who have the faith of Abraham. All of us who believe in the salvation received through Yeshua’s-Jesus’ death and resurrection! All of us who believe in and worship the God of Creation.

Acts 13:26 | “Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

Ephesians 3:14-15 | For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Genesis 28:14 | Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed..

So what separates us?!

I’m going to get just a little snarky here. As a whole the world we live in is going downhill fast. When judgement comes upon us, you will not be judged for another person’s beliefs, actions, opinions or words. You will be judged for what you do, think and believe! Examine your faith and see if it is based on what a man tells you or if it is based on what you read (hear) from God’s word - what God tells you. How many times have you used a “study Bible” or Chumash filled with commentary and notes from other sources? How often have you read a verse then checked that commentary for opinions someone else has included into God’s words? How many times has commentary explained away the plain and clear truth in God’s words? How often have you listened to a sermon that was based on a scripture that became distorted by the explanation of the teacher? A very good example is found in the commentary concerning Jesus’ words in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 5:17-20 | “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

The teaching of the mainstream church tells us that we do not have to be obedient to the instruction of God. We are talking about the instructions that God gave to a people who had been enslaved for generations and had no idea how to behave as a free people. We are talking about the instructions that have come directly from the mouth AND the hand of God. We are talking about the Law that formed the very foundation of the nation that God built. It is also the foundation that so much of the United States Constitution is based on!!! We are told that those “old” commandments have been done away with. Please open your eyes and ears and tell me just how the word fulfill means “done away with” instead of magnify. Please use your own mind to think with! Jesus had just spent more than a few words in the preceding verses in Matthew 5 to expound on and magnify the commandments.

John 14:15, 21 | “If you love Me, keep My commandments. …He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Exodus 20:6 | …but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Revelation 14:12 |  Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

definition of doctrine - : something that is taught. : a principle in a system of belief.

What you believe is your personal responsibility. Will you allow another person’s opinion to outweigh the word of God? Will you allow another person’s words to lead you into error? Are the doctrines (or agreed upon opinions) of the church”fathers” more important than the words of our Savior? What are you going to say when on Judgement day you stand in front of the Holy God and He asks you why you felt that you did not need to be obedient to HIS instruction?!  I’m sure that conversation would sound eerily similar to the one held in the Garden of Eden.

Who gave any man, woman, priest, pastor, rabbi, church, synagogue or any created being the authority to dismiss or change what God has called holy? The Catholic Church actually boast that they have the authority to change the very words of God especially in regard to Sabbath.

“Ask [the Protestant] why he keeps Sunday, and not Saturday, as his day of rest, since he is unwilling either to fast or to abstain. If he reply that the Scripture orders him to keep the Sunday, but says nothing as to fasting and abstinence, tell him the Scripture speaks of Saturday or the Sabbath, but gives no commandment anywhere regarding Sunday or the first day of the week. If, then, he neglects Saturday as a day of rest and holiness, and substitutes Sunday in its place, and this merely because such as the usage of the ancient Church, should he not, if he wishes to act consistently, observe fasting and abstinence, because the ancient Church so ordained?”

Father Stephen Keenan, in his Catechism from 1898

They specifically tell you that there is no place in scripture that tells us to stop keeping the seventh day Sabbath and start keeping Sunday. They have dismissed God’s Plan of Salvation laid out in the Sabbath and the Seven Festivals of the Lord and instead advocate observing Easter and Christmas instead. 

Just a little note here - do you have any idea what the leaven of the pharisees that Jesus refers to actually is? When you study it out you will see that the pharisees did the very same thing that the church fathers did. The leaven or “what puffs up''“ is their pride in thinking that they know what God thinks!! They added to and took away from God’s words with their own opinions!!!! Both groups are just more than a little presumptuous. Our Creator warns us several times about adding to or taking away from what He has said.

Deuteronomy 4:2 | You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Proverbs 30:6 | Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 | I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

Revelation 22:18-19 | For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The teachings of the mainstream church and the church “fathers” tell us of replacement theology. These teachings hide the truth of the Two Houses of Israel and the foundations of our faith. The teachings of rabbinical Judaism add many burdens to His word and separates us into enemies because it is their opinion that the Messiah hasn’t come yet. We have lost our identity and we are confused because of the doctrines of men.

So what is it that separates us?!!!

God’s family includes all of those who believe in Him and the One He sent as Savior. God knows each person who is a member in His family. No other person can say that you are or are not a child of God! You are who God says you are!!! Those who hold faith with Him regardless of what church or synagogue they attend or even if they attend none - are His Children. His covenant with Abraham includes all of us as one family! Many nations but one Kingdom and the name of that Kingdom is Israel! When He scattered Israel into the nations He sowed the seeds of future Believers. We are grafted in or born of Israel. Our Father considers all of us as His children. Again the challenge here is to read the words of God instead of the doctrines or opinions of men! God defines HIS Family! His words to us promise a great harvest of believers to join our family through the Tribulation. All of His family will be gathered up in this end time Tribulation Exodus.

While we are on the topic of opinions (personal doctrine) let us examine how often our personal opinions can cause strife in our family. Do we try to define another person with our own words and beliefs? Do we manage some one else with our opinions? Sometimes we act indeed like squabbling siblings! The overwhelming need to “fix” someone else is destructive to our family. Everybody has opinions either loudly spoken or silently held or some where in between. I’ve heard a saying that helps me keep my own opinions in check. “Opinions are like armpits. Everybody has two and they both stink!”

Romans 14:4 | Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

It is of little matter if we consider ourselves as Christian or Messianic. We can all be led astray by endless discussion. Unless we are grounded in the clear understanding of God’s words we can separate His words into a multitude of our own opinions. Seek out teachers who do not add or take away from God’s words. Seek out teachers who take seriously their responsibility and the admonition of personal accountability. Above all we need to realize that the Holy Spirit will lead us into truth and we are accountable for how we respond to it.

There are so many flavors of Christian and Messianic believers. When we read scripture and seek to hear the truth that God is speaking we often hear from the viewpoint of previously heard sermons, lessons and teachings that we have learned in the past telling us of another’s interpretation of scripture instead of God’s truth. We are taught from scripture but we are not taught scripture. How do we learn to hear with clean ears? How much of what we believe is supposition based on what we were taught by anybody’s opinion? We have to be willing to let go of everything (as well as our own opinions) we were taught and learn to simply read and believe the words God is speaking to us. Our eternal life is founded on the reality of our personal relationship with God and  our personal responsibility of believing the truth spoken by the Source of Truth! Not a personal opinion. Not any person has the right to re-word what God has said! How do we get to just God’s word and not anybody’s opinion? You can not have a personal relationship with the Messiah based on somebody else’s words or opinions of how to do it! No other person can teach, speak or pray you into a personal relationship with God. Organized religion can not teach you how to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind. No religion will get you into the Kingdom of God.

WAKE UP!   WAKE UP!   WAKE UP!   PLEASE!

Jeremiah 2:13 | For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And carved themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

We often prefer the teachings of men instead of the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit to understand God’s word. It is so much easier to let somebody else be responsible than to be responsible for ourselves. We have ever been uncomfortable with His personal presence.

Exodus 20:19 | Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

We are saved by faith! What is your faith in? God’s Word or man’s explanation of His word? Are we people of faith? A people so utterly convicted of God’s love that even death cannot persuade us otherwise. Do we bless others with our testimony? What is our testimony based on? Is it God’s words or people’s opinions of His words? We are a people blessed with the God given freedom to choose. We are all given the opportunity to work out our own salvation. Each of us individually will stand before God’s throne and be asked the question - Who did you believe? Who were you listening to? We can not find salvation in a man’s opinion of God’s words. Read and believe what our Messiah Savior is saying to us! 

LUKE 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

All those things that the enemy of our souls has used to deceive and divide us will be sorted out as we walk through the Tribulation Exodus to become fully His people and His witnesses. The Savior knows whom He has chosen and He pursues you, calls you and saves you! The Savior will lead you according to His promise.It is not our efforts or even our opinions that save is!  We are saved by the good pleasure of His Will!

Eph.1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 

God has promised that He will gather us from the ends of the earth and restore us to the Kingdom of His dear Son.(Col.1:13) His kingdom that is overflowing with righteousness and peace. His Kingdom that is based on truth!

Open Your Eyes

You and your family are on an outing to an amusement park. As you approach the entrance gates a nicely dressed young woman comes up to  you. She tells you that one of your three children will be kidnapped and that there is nothing you can do to prevent it. She also tells you that after three days the child will be returned to you unharmed. You quickly look around to make sure your children are with you. When you look back the young woman is gone and nowhere in sight. You and your spouse look at each other. Do you take her seriously? You both decide that it is a good idea to report it to the park authorities. After further consideration you decide that you and your family will go ahead with the outing but stick close to each other, after all your children are of the responsible ages of twelve, fourteen, and sixteen. As the day proceeds the young woman’s warning fades from your constant attention.  

Now it is evening and you all have had a good time. You join a small line at the gates to leave. With your children in front of you, your family exits the park. As you pull your daughter in for a quick hug, you turn to your spouse and jokingly state that this morning’s young woman must have been a little crazy. When you reach your car you have to settle a minor dispute between the two boys. As everyone begins to climb into the car, you are suddenly and terrifying aware that your 16 year old daughter is not with you. Frantically searching and calling you retrace your steps but she is nowhere to be seen and not even five minutes ago she was right there in front of you. You notify park authorities and the amber alert is spread. As the night progresses into the next morning the feeling of dread is matched only by the certainty of her absence. It is not until later that evening that you recall the young woman’s complete statement. “After three days and nights she will return unharmed”. In the midst of this dark nightmare hope dawns. All you have to do is endure another forty six hours. The battle between hope and despair rages yet you remember the young lady’s words. The last three hours are intense!  At the seventy two hour mark the door bell rings and there she stands. Safe. Whole. And O Lord! - she’s home!!!  It isn’t until a few days later that you realize how much the words spoken by that young woman gave you hope in the pit of despair.

If you know the end of the story then the darkness is some easier to endure. The beginning of the story is that I believe that He will save me. The end of the story is that I know that He has. There is a good possibility of disaster ahead. Time is critical. But a little foreknowledge gives you a lot of hope that the end will be better than the present looks. - (Unknown author)