Will You Be Left Behind?

Posted on 17/04/2025 | Leave a comment

People who follow dispensational and ‘rapture’ doctrine invariably follow the ‘left behind’ teaching,  popularised by authors and movie makers like Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which fictionalises the idea of a secret rapture where Christians are suddenly removed from Earth, leaving others behind to face a period of tribulation.  They apply it to the ‘rapture’. They and others like Hal Lindsey and Jerry Falwell teach that some will be taken up to heaven (the floaters} and the rest left behind on earth.

Millions of young people in the 70s joined the ‘Jesus People‘, a wonderful movement of passionate Christians all over the world. Many of these devoured the book by Lindsey, ‘The Late Great Planet Earth‘. In his book, Lindsey warned that planet earth would cease to exist within a few years. More than 15 million copies of this book were sold, and it was named ‘the bestseller of the decade’.

Sadly, it’s actually the truth that is being left behind. The ‘rapture’ doctrine does not accord with scripture. It was not taught by Jesus or by the apostles.

The passages these teachers use for their ‘left behind’ doctrine are actually only a small part of a passage which we refer to as the Olivet Discourse.

Here, Jesus was answering the questions of His disciples. It’s about the terrible time when the Romans would besiege Jerusalem (which we now know from history took place in AD 70).

These teachers take these passages out of context. How crazy is that for good interpretation?

We will look first at Matthew 24:32-41 and then relevant verses in Luke 17:26-36.

Matthew 24:37-41—Jesus was teaching the disciples about the suddenness of His coming.

37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Now, looking at those relevant verses in Luke 17:22-36.

Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

I have seen this verse used as a proof text by dispensational teachers to prove that Jesus said the disciples would never see His coming. Talk about a text taken out of context!

 . . . . . . 25  But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

What generation is that? Of course it was the current generation of Jesus and His hearers that He said would not pass away before ‘all these things’ occur (Luke 21:32, Mat 24:34).

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

You can see this is similar to the Matthew passage, but Luke adds this to Jesus’ reported words:

28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 

34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” 

In both these passages, Jesus told the disciples that before his coming, people would live like they did in the days of Noah (Gen. 6-9). They conducted regular business. The flood came, and Noah and his family got into the ark. The ones who were left after the flood were Noah and his family, who survived the wrath of God, while those who were taken away went through judgment and didn’t survive for the flood waters took them away.

Similarly, that as Lot escaped with Abraham, the ones who are left behind and escape survive the fire and sulphur, while those who do not survive it are the people of Sodom. They were “taken away” in judgment.

Jesus said that people who surrender to his call to obedience will escape the dreadful final judgment, but they must get out of Jerusalem and flee to the hills without delay. Luke 21:20-24.

Note how these passages show a persistent Judean and a thoroughly 1st-century and Jewish context. That makes it impossible to interpret the event as happening in the future.

It is illogical to think these things will occur in modern times: it is those in Judea who must flee.  People will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world, and Jerusalem will be trampled down. History.

No. Jesus has already come and gone!

And no, you won’t be left behind!

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Will You Face The Great Tribulation?

Posted on 16/04/2025 | Leave a comment

Jesus spoke of a terrible time that would occur just before the time of His second coming. He referred to this as ‘the great tribulation’.

When do you expect the great tribulation to happen?  Soon?

C’mon, let’s see what Jesus told the disciples about the great tribulation in the ‘Olivet Discourse’, 2000 years ago (Matthew 24:20-22).

In that discourse, He was answering the disciples’ questions. They remembered his words and these were recorded in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke, in the New Testament for readers of all generations.

Verse 20: “When you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ . . . .  then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains . . . Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

Jesus told the disciples they would see the Abomination of Desolation—a sacrilegious defilement of the holy temple in Jerusalem—as the signal for them to get out of Judea and escape the Great Tribulation.

Note the references to Judea and the mountains, to the winter (when Judea gets very cold) on the Sabbath (the limits of travel on that day). The warning is for the people of the generation he is addressing—it is ‘your flight’. Not a warning for people 2000 years hence, but to people who observe the Sabbath, Jews.

Jesus does not know the timing of this (see v.36) so he warns the disciples of his own generation.

So, it has already happened, right?

It is impossible to conclude otherwise. Unless you think that Jesus was mistaken—perish the thought!

Stop worrying.

Verse 21: For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 

Jesus said this time of utter devastation would never be repeated. His term nor ever will shows this will not be the end of the world—again, no one could flee then!

This terrible time is one of the things that would happen before ‘this generation passes away’ (v34).   

22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

We know that the Jews who believed Jesus, the ‘elect’ left Judea and fled to the mountains, following His instructions, and were saved.

But the people remaining in Jerusalem and Judea were cut down not only by the Romans but also by one another in a terrible civil war—bringing the unprecedented horror events of 68-70 AD, described in great detail by the Jewish eyewitness historian Josephus in his War of the Jews, book 6, chap. 5, sec. 3.

On His way to the cross, Jesus said to weeping women “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are those who cannot bear and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have not nursed.” (Luke 23:27-31) They must be very concerned for terrible events would happen in their own generation.

History records several temporary cessations of the assaults by the Roman army when the elect, those who followed Jesus, would have had the opportunity to escape from Judea. That’s history.

Thus all this talk about the great tribulation happening in the future and who will face it or who will escape it with some ‘rapture’ event is totally irrelevant. Paul’s letter (Thessalonians 4:16-17) has no hint of anyone fleeing anything but rather people being united with Jesus forever. Right?

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Posted on 15/04/2025 | Leave a comment

“Billionaires Try to Shrink World’s Population” at Secret Gathering Sponsored by Bill Gates

By John Gideon Hartnett   April 15, 2025

Over 50 years ago I attended one of the first meetings of the Club of Rome at Flinders University, South Australia, as a Western Australia student representative. That meeting was under the auspices of the Australian National Science Faculty Association and was dedicated to three global problems: world population control, depletion of natural resources and control of the environment. After that meeting the Club of Rome produced their book “Limits to Growth”, with the goal to limit or reduce the global population. The following report is consistent with those globalist goals.

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky Global Research, April 12, 2025

To read complete WSJ article click here.

According to the Sunday Times report : The philanthropists who attended a summit convened on the initiative of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, discussed joining forces to overcome political and religious obstacles to change.

Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, said the summit was unprecedented. “We only learnt about it afterwards, by accident. Normally these people are happy to talk good causes, but this is different – maybe because they don’t want to be seen as a global cabal,” he said.

Another guest said there was “nothing as crude as a vote” but a consensus emerged that they would back a strategy in which population growth would be tackled as a potentially disastrous environmental, social and industrial threat.

“This is something so nightmarish that everyone in this group agreed it needs big-brain answers,” said the guest. …

Why all the secrecy? “They wanted to speak rich to rich without worrying anything they said would end up in the newspapers, painting them as an alternative world government,” he said. (Sunday Times)

Shrinking The World’s Population

The media reports on the May 5, 2009 secret gathering focussed on the commitment of “The Good Club” to “slowing down” the growth of the World’s population.

“Shrink the World Population” (the WSJ Title) goes far beyond Planned Parenthood which consists in “Reducing the Growth of World Population”. It consists in “Depopulation”, namely reducing the absolute size of the World’s Population, which ultimately requires reducing the rate of birth (which would include reduced fertility) coupled with a significant increase in the death rate.

Secret Meeting: At the Height of the H1N1 Pandemic

On April 25, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) headed by Margaret Chan declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). And a couple of weeks later, the “Good Club” met in NYC at the height of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic which turned out to be a scam.

It is also worth noting that at very outset of the H1N1 crisis in April 2009, Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London was advising Bill Gates and the WHO: “40 per cent of people in the UK could be infected [with H1N1] within the next six months if the country was hit by a pandemic.”

Sounds familiar? That was the same Neil Ferguson (generously supported by the Gates Foundation) who designed the coronavirus Lockdown Model (launched on March 11, 2020). As we recall, that March 2020 mathematical model was based on “predictions” of 600,000 deaths in the UK.

And now (Summer- Autumn 2021) a third authoritative “mathematical model” by the same “scientist” (Ferguson) was formulated to justify a “Fourth Wave Lockdown”.

Saving Lives to Achieve “Depopulation”

Was an absolute “reduction” in World population contemplated at that May 2009 secret meeting?

A few months later, Bill Gates in his TED presentation (February 2010) pertaining to vaccination, confirmed the following;

“And if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that [the world population] by 10 or 15 percent”.

According to Gates’ statement, this would represent an absolute reduction of the World’s population (2010) of the order of 680 million to 1.02 billion. (See quotation on Video starting at 04.21.

“The Good Club” Then and Now

The same group of billionaires who met at the May 2009 secret venue at the Rockefeller University in Manhattan, have been actively involved from the outset of the Covid crisis in designing the lockdown policies applied Worldwide including the mRNA vaccine and the WEF’s “Great Reset”.

The mRNA vaccine is not a project of a UN intergovernmental body (WHO) on behalf the member states of the UN: It’s a private initiative. The billionaire elites who fund and enforce the Covid Vaccine Project Worldwide are Eugenists committed to Depopulation.

The original source of this article is Global Research.

Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2025

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What is the Millennium Reign of Christ?

Posted on 04/04/2025 | Leave a comment

The phrase ‘the millennium reign of Christ on earth, is a form of eschatological speculation that contradicts the Church’s historical teachings on the nature of Christ’s reign. The apocalyptic passage of Revelation 20:4-6 is usually quoted by many teachers in support of this idea These writers include the popular online series ‘Got Questions?’.

These people claim that Jesus Christ will return and will establish Himself as king in Jerusalem, literally sitting on the throne of David.  They quote Luke 1:32–33 as one of their proof texts:

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

No mention of Jerusalem here! He will reign not just on earth but in heaven for ever and ever. And we Christians today are enjoying His reign! For we are the true ‘Israel of God’ as Paul declared (Galatians 6:16).

Sending His disciples He said “all power is given unto me in heaven and earth.” (Mat 28:18)

Rev 1:5. John wrote: he is the ruler of all the kings of the world.

Rev 11:15 . . . . the seventh angel sounded  . . . . saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever'”.

Daniel 7:27: And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Revelation 20 just does not connect with the idea ‘while Christ reigns over the earth.’ It says ‘They reigned with Christ for a thousand years.’ Yes, but on earth? No. They have died and they have received their resurrection and will reign with him where He is, in heaven. (Revelation 20:4-6)

See John 14:3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Let’s interpret the obscure, apocalyptic passages of scripture by text that is perspicuous—a sound hermeneutic. Jesus has ascended and is reigning now and is seated at the right hand of God. To say He will take up residence in earthly Jerusalem is junk theology—believed by millions in a cult.

These teachers claim that unconditional covenants demand a literal, physical return of Christ to establish the kingdom.

These covenants don’t ‘demand’ a physical return. A physical return cannot be proved. Why do people think He would be optically ‘seen’ at His coming in judgment hidden in clouds of glory? He whom no one can see and live? Christian, we walk by faith, not by sight!

He told Pilate ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’

They claim that the Abrahamic covenant promises Israel a land, a posterity and ruler, and a spiritual blessing quoting Genesis 12:1–3. But what does it say:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God covenanted with Abraham (you/thee, sing.) not Israel. All people will be blessed because of Abraham’s seed, which is Christ! See Galatians 3:7-9:  Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

They claim that the Palestinian covenant promised Israel a restoration to the land and occupation of the land (Deuteronomy 30:1–10).  

True. But then the passage goes on, see verse 18: But if to other gods and [you] worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

They made the wrong choice, again and again and again. Consequently, they were certainly destroyed when Judea, Jerusalem and people were ravaged by the Roman armies in 66-70 AD after the real Jewish followers of Christ had escaped just as He instructed them. “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written. (Luke 21:20-22).

They also claim that the Davidic covenant promised Israel a king from David’s line who would rule forever—giving the nation rest from all their enemies (2 Samuel 7:10–13).

When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 

That was fulfilled at the birth of Jesus as we saw above in Luke 1:32–33.

See also Daniel 7:13-14: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom will never be destroyed.

In conclusion, let me say that this whole idea we have looked at here, rather briefly, is not reflected at all in the pages of the New Testament. Their proof texts are mostly from the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation.

All of this goes along with the obsession millions have about the nation-state of Israel founded not by God Almighty but by politicians and global elites like the wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish banking family Rothschilds.

We are the people of God as Peter wrote to congregations of Jews and Gentiles (1 Peter 2:9).

Repeating, God covenanted with Abraham (Gen 12:1-3):

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Today, we believers in Jesus are that ‘great nation’, not the Israeli state. We are blessed and will be a blessing, and all peoples on earth are being blessed by us!

Let’s do it!

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Australia is a Christian Nation

Posted on 01/04/2025 | 2 comments

Senator Ralph Babet

31 March 2025

Australia is in the midst of a massive identity crisis. Let me explain.

We are a country founded on the Christian faith and on Western culture.

Our founding document leads with these words, ‘Humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God.’

No one, unless you are a complete ignoramus or a member of the progressive Left, can deny that Australia is fundamentally a Christian nation.

But the Left has demonised Christianity and rejected our Western roots. So where does that leave us?

If we are not Christian… what are we?

And it’s at this point that the left shows us what nihilists they are.

They love to tear down everything that made Australia great, but they never provide an alternative.

They want to destroy our foundations only to leave us standing with our feet firmly planted in mid-air.

They are all criticism, with zero alternatives.

If we are not a Christian nation, as the Left insists, then the Left must tell us what kind of nation we are.

They’ll say we are a ‘secular’ nation, by which they mean we are anything and everything except Christian.

Is it any wonder we no longer have shared values…

And if we are not descendants of Western culture, then what culture are we?

The so-called progressive Left will proudly proclaim that we are multicultural. But what does that even mean?

Religion and Culture

Australia is Australia because it was founded by Christian people from a Christian culture.

Our political and legal systems reflect that. And I’m pretty sure that we are all glad that they do.

Consider the alternative.

We have Common Law rather than Sharia Law because we were founded by people professing faith in Jesus Christ rather than in Muhammad.

We are an egalitarian society because we were founded by people whose belief system was based on the Bible’s ethic of equality rather than on Hinduism with its caste system.

We have prosperity because we were founded by people who believe God created the world to be enjoyed, rather than by Buddhists who believe the only way to peace is to reject the material world.

Here’s something that is vital to understand. Politics is important, but it is downstream from culture. The culture determines the kind of politicians you get.

But culture is downstream from religion. The culture of a society is shaped, for better or worse, by the spiritual outlook of the populace.

Religion shapes the culture, and culture determines the politics.

Let me prove it to you.

Fairness and Justice

Our Common Law didn’t just happen out of thin air, it is based on the Bible.

It’s the Bible that revealed to us principles like the presumption of innocence, due process, and the right to be judged by a jury of your peers.

These were not ideas from the Enlightenment. These were ideas straight from the teachings of Moses.

It’s the Law of Moses that taught us that justice must be dispensed fairly, without partiality to the rich or to the poor.

And that principle was further outlined in the New Testament where the Apostle Paul taught that in Christ there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Gentile, slave, nor free – in other words … there is an equality of men before God, and therefore there should an equality of men before the law.

I could go on and on with examples of freedoms and protections that we take for granted that are all lifted directly from the Bible.

But what happens when our elites decide to reject the Bible and trash all of our institutions which are built on Christian principles? Do they really expect they can rip up the foundation without the whole house falling down on top of them?

You cannot have liberty if you do not have a population that, at the very least, respects and appreciates the Christian faith as the best worldview on which to base society.

Australia is a Christian country.

I know a lot of people on the Left will bristle at that because they don’t want to be Christian.

What they don’t understand is that it is precisely because Australia is a Christian country that not every Australian has to be a Christian.

Freedom of conscience and of belief is a Christian idea.

Radical secularism doesn’t teach that, and communism demands no faith other than blind obedience to the state.

Freedom vs Division

The paradox of a Christian country is that non-Christians should thank the God they don’t believe in, for living in a Christian country, where the idea of freedom – even freedom not to believe – is considered sacred.

Multiculturalism and multi-faith societies don’t work. They end up devouring themselves in never-ending culture wars where every issue becomes a power play.

If we want to protect everything great about Australia, then we must protect and defend our Christian identity.

If we fail to do that, then Australia will be shaped by other values, possibly by communism, possibly by something else. Either way, it is unlikely to be kind to non-believers.

When the Left demonises our Christian heritage and denies our Western cultural roots, I can hear the words of Jesus from the cross:

“Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”

Even if you don’t believe in Christianity, you should wish that it were true since there is no fairer, just or hopeful worldview.

And even if you don’t practise Christianity, you should hope to live in a country where most people still do.

Christianity is the guarantee of liberty and prosperity for the believer, and for the non-believer.

That is why we all should have an interest in preserving our culture and ensuring that Australia remains a Christian country.

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The Tadros Miracle

Posted on 30/03/2025 | Leave a comment

Let me share an amazing story, truly miraculous, which unfolded a few years ago.

One of my sons has an IT business with Egyptian-born Atef. Atef and his Philippine-born wife, Emelie were living on the Central Coast of New South Wales (Australia) with their three young boys when she became pregnant again.   

In November 2020, Emelie was given the most distressing news by doctors at the local hospital. She faced the most dangerous possible outcome because of the baby’s position. The placenta was growing in a verticle crevice left by a previous caesarean delivery. The thin wall of the placenta could easily puncture.

When my wife Joan and I heard this terrible news from Atef, we began praying and then we recruited others praying day and night for the blessing of God upon them, for a miracle. It had to be a miracle.

She was then referred to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney where she was told that the doctors would be assembling a team of specialists (not just obstetricians) to be on hand for a March delivery as the lives of both mother and baby would be in grave danger due to potential haemorrhaging“.

An all-day procedure would be necessary. When they asked the specialist about the odds of having a successful outcome, the doctors gave no reply. Could the situation be rectified naturally? The specialist said that was impossible. They were told that even if the delivery was successful the growth of the child could be compromised.

Well, our prayers were about to be answered mightily.

On the 7th of January, Atef and Emelie went to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital for a scheduled scan of the pregnancy. Then they were told the most astonishing good news.

The scan at the Sydney Hospital revealed that Emeiie could expect to have a completely normal finish to her pregnancy. The specialist was stunned and said this was totally unexpected. He said the womb was completely normal and “it didn’t even look like she had undergone three previous C-sections”.

A few weeks later, the parents made another scheduled visit expecting Emelie to undergo an MRI scan.

But after an Ultrasound was performed, the specialist they saw confirmed total normality! He had no explanation but had to acknowledge this was a miracle.

There was no need to have the scheduled MRI, nor another visit to Sydney, and she was told she could have the baby at their local hospital.  Wow!

When they made the necessary arrangements for a March delivery at the local hospital, the medical staff sounded very concerned that the procedure would not be without very serious results despite the recent scans at the Royal North Shore Hospital.  

So they proceeded to have a team of specialists ready for the worst-case scenario, an all-day procedure. We kept trusting God and encouraged Atef as well.

The big day arrived. On 11th March, Emelie and Atef proceeded to the local hospital and there a beautiful, perfect baby girl weighing 3.5 kg was born by normal C-Section. There was no abnormal bleeding and the condition of the womb did not look as if there were any previous C-sections.

They said, “There was not even any bad scarring visible!”

The climax of an amazing miracle.

Isn’t God wonderful! Atef and Emelie were over the moon. Excited. And so thankful to God and to all who joined in prayer. God loves us so very much. To God be the glory.

Surely, God intended the arrival of this precious little life and He intends many blessings for this family! Today this little girl, Emery, is now 4 years old.

Atef says “Rejoice with us and be encouraged in your faith and prayer life.”

Keep on asking!

Our great Father does such fantastic things for us–but we must ask! Don’t doubt His wonderful love and power. Stop thinking He doesn’t do creative acts like we read here or in the Bible!

Start thinking He loves you as His son or daughter and see miracles today!

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Peter and His End Times Teaching

Posted on 30/03/2025 | 3 comments

Peter wrote: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Peter wrote this letter to Christian believers living in various places, scattered throughout Pontos, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These were real places in the Ancient World. It’s interesting if you check Acts chapter 2 you find those same places mentioned among the many other regions, from which people had come to Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. Acts 2 describes how on that day the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.

So Peter was addressing some of those same people who had heard him proclaiming on that day some 25 or 30 years previously. These would have gone back to their homelands and no doubt bore witnesses for Jesus by the power of the Spirit where they lived.

He encouraged his readers, both Hebrew and Gentile believers, to prepare for a most important, earth-shattering event that was soon to take place. Terrible judgment was about to come on many Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. The temple and the Jewish religion known for centuries, Judaism, would be destroyed and replaced by a new creation. This would also seriously impact them and many traditional Jews where they lived.

Although Peter wrote that they were born again and their inheritance was safe in heaven, he said to them that their salvation was the future –it was ready to be revealed! When? In ‘the last time’. What?

Yes, the last time or the end of the age.  That’s not the end of history or the end of the world but the end of the Mosaic era, the Old Covenant, and the Jewish sacrificial economy. He wrote they are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

The New Testament teaches that salvation was not complete until the return of Christ: . . . so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. (Hebrews 9:28).

You see, this strongly reflects the Old Testament type of the high priest’s role on the Day of Atonement and his safe exit from the Temple to appear to those Jews who eagerly awaited him (Leviticus 16). God had accepted the sacrifice! In the same way, when our Great High Priest, Jesus, appears a second time, Christian believers are assured of their complete salvation. Until He appears again, believers are waiting.

In the gospel of Luke, we read So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near (Luke 21:28).

‘All these things’ included Jerusalem ringed by armies, great tribulation in the land wrath against the Jews and the coming of the Son of Man in judgment. Jesus was addressing His disciples 2000 years ago (not us today). If those things did not happen then completed salvation did not happen!

If Christ did not return, then your salvation is incomplete and no one has yet gone to heaven.  Jesus had told Peter on the Mount of Olivet that all things which were written would be fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed and that included His coming again. See Luke 21:22: For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written.

Then Peter wrote: In all this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy 1 Peter 1:6-8)

Though they were excited and joyful, they would suffer for a little while until the time when Jesus was revealed. They were suffering persecution most likely from Jews who had rejected Jesus.

Peter says at the coming of the Son of Man, after ‘a little while (not 2000 years!) these believers will offer up praise, glory and honour. At His coming the dead will be raised! (1 Corinthians 15:52-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).  Their Jewish persecutors judged! This has happened long ago.

Since resurrection begins only at the Second Coming, the ‘End’, so if the Son of Man did not come no one yet has been resurrected. The dead remain in Sheol.

But, dear reader, where do you believe that you go at death? Heaven, yes!

Well, I have good news for you! Jesus DID return in clouds of God’s glory 2000 years ago and that means your salvation is complete! Sheol has been emptied.

Peter wrote, Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (1 Peter 1:13)

Peter said they are to set their hope on the grace to be brought to them at the revelation of His coming. Peter expected His coming was soon for them. Do you honestly think that they were disappointed, left utterly without any hope? No grace brought to them? Of course not!

You may not have known it, dear reader, that your salvation is complete! Because He came!

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The Timing of Jesus’ Return

Posted on 25/03/2025 | 1 comment

This article discusses what the New Testament says about the timing of Jesus’ second coming.

We are often reminded by teachers that Jesus said “about that day or hour no one knows, not even angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mat 24:44) as if that should end any further discussion.

But there are a surprising number of passages referring to the timing of his coming. Let’s check them out.

First. Matthew 10:23. “But when they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

Jesus was speaking to his disciples as he sends them out to preach and heal in their mission to the Jews. 

The phrase “the Son of Man comes” is a clear reference to Jesus’ Second Coming. Jesus was telling his disciples that their mission will not be completed before his return, and that they should not be discouraged by persecution, but instead to flee to another city of Israel and continue their work. They are only to go to cities of Israel, to Jews, not to Gentiles.

This passage also emphasizes the urgency of the disciples’ mission, as they are to proclaim the gospel in all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes, a huge task taking several decades. The time was very short and that they must work to spread the message before it is too late for the hearers to repent and believe the gospel. We read about this activity in Acts, Paul preaching first to the Jews.

This is a 1st century Jewish setting and cannot fit any other historic period, let alone 2000 years in future.

Second. Mat 16:27-28. 27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.  “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Jesus was speaking to His disciples and making a profound statement about His Second Coming and the final judgment. This is a 1st century setting and cannot possibly fit any other future historic period.

Though some interpret this as referring to the Transfiguration (Mat 17:1-8), where 3 disciples witness Jesus in a glorified state. That was an important preview of Christ’s role as supreme prophet and king. But there was no mention of his Return or judgment and it was only a few days after the Matthew 16 statement.

Third. Mat 23:38-39. ‘Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’

Jesus declared that the temple will be left desolate, abandoned.—a prophecy of its destruction which we know came by the Romans in 70 AD. Jesus’ body will replace the temple (see John 2:13-21).

The people of Jerusalem will not see Jesus again until they acknowledge and bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord—Jesus himself, as the One who was to return. The Jews will not recognize him as such until they use this phrase to greet him. This was spoken only a few days before they crucified him.

Fourth. Mat 24:14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world (Greek oikoumenē) as a testimony to all peoples (Greek ethnos), and then the end will come.

Jesus was speaking to His disciples discussing the signs of the end and His coming and on the spread of the gospel before the end of the age; the time of his return is linked to the completion of their task.

Note Strongs G3525 oikoumenē can exclude ‘whole earth’ e.g., Luke 2:1, Luke 21:26, Acts 24:5, Rom 10:18.  

Note also Strongs G1484 ethnos can meana company, troop, swarm, people group not just ‘nations’

Fourth. Mat 24:15-20:  “when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ . . . .  then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains . . . Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

Jesus said the disciples would see the Abomination of Desolation the signal to get out of Judea and escape the Great Tribulation. Note the reference to Sabbath and the limits of travel—all purely a Judean context.

Fifth. Mat 24:32-34. “ . . . . lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

‘All these things’ they see include the Abomination of Desolation, the Great Tribulation, the destruction of the temple and the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens and his return must have happened. If they did not happen then Jesus was at best mistaken (a decision reached by C S Lewis) or worse a false prophet.

The word ‘near’ and the phrase ‘right at the door’ can only mean his coming was quite imminent. It cannot possibly mean centuries in the future. It must be within the generation of his hearers, the disciples.

Sixth. Mat 24:44. “about that day or hour no one knows, not angels . . . nor the Son, but only the Father”

Notice Jesus used the terms hour or day of his coming—not that year, century or millennium.

Seventh. Acts 1:10-11.  After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. The two men in white said to the disciples “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

taken up before their eyes into a cloud: They quickly lost sight of him straining to see him, because it was not a rain cloud but a cloud of God’s glory—see Dan 7:13, Mat 17:5-8, 24:30, 26:63-64;, Rev 1:7, Rev 11:12.  

just the same way as: This Greek construction occurs in Mat 23:37. Greek tropos: like as, in the same way.

How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings . . .

Jesus said he was like a hen–not a hen! Jesus’ return is similar to his departure. He disappears in the cloud and when he returns he will come hidden in clouds of God’s glory, clouds hiding him like when he left.

When he came in judgment destroying the Temple he came in the clouds, just as He promised (Mat 24:30), and just as the same clouds of glory that shrouded Him as He ascended. Why should people  believe that he could be seen bodily, he who dwells in the splendour and glory of Almighty God?

This passage strongly suggests that his coming was to occur within the lifespan of those present. His coming is not a “coming” that will occur in our future, for indeed, it has already occurred.

How could the apostles be so sure?

There are over one hundred passages in the apostles’ letters showing how the first believers were more than confident of his return in their lifetime. Just as these ‘timing’ passages confine Christ’s Second Coming to the first-century generation, they saw the end of the age squarely in that generation as well. See e.g.

-Phil 3:20.  . And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

-Titus 2:11f. we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, J

-2 Thes 2:1.  . .  about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.

James 5:8-9. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

I conclude: Jesus must have already returned!  Please comment and explain if you are unconvinced

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Let’s look at the ‘Rapture’ Passage

Posted on 15/03/2025 | 3 comments

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

The Lord descends from heaven

Paul expected the Lord to descend but he was silent as to just where. Not the earth, and certainly not to Jerusalem.

Who are the ‘still alive and remain’?

The word ‘and’ is not in the original text. That could mean the ones who are still alive will remain in the world and not taken away supernaturally (see John 17:15). Or the term “remain” could also indicate those who continue to hold on to their faith despite trials and tribulations.

What does ‘caught up’ mean? 

The phrase “caught up” (Greek harpazō) and derivatives occurs 14 times in the New Testament. It can mean to seize (John 6:15), catch, pluck (John 10:28), pull, forcibly take (Mat 12:29, Acts 23:10). It does not have to mean “up”. The YLT translates the Greek harpagesomethain 1 Thes 4:17 as “caught away.” Does it convey the sense of any abduction here? No, “it combines the ideas of force and suddenness seen in the irresistible power of God” (Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Rev Edition, 1984, p. 94).

Paul wrote to the Corinthians of his experience of being “caught up (or away) to Paradise” (2 Cor 12:2-4). He told them about a supernatural experience he had fourteen years prior –that’s around AD 41-42. He describes being caught up to the third heaven, the dwelling place of God and angels, hearing things that cannot be revealed. He was caught into the spiritual realm. But he remained on the ground.

Meaning of ‘in clouds’

Not the clouds we see daily in the sky, but clouds of God’s glory in the spiritual realm—see Daniel 7:13, Matthew 17:5-8, 24:30, 26:63-64, Acts 1:9, Rev 1:7, 11:12, etc.  The text in v17 mentions clouds and air for the meeting site, not Earth. Note also that heaven is not mentioned—simply “in the clouds.” The destination of this “forceful catch” must be supplied by the larger biblical and theological contexts.

Meaning of ‘to meet the Lord’

The word Paul used for meet is very significant. The Greek apantēsis occurs only four times in the NT. The other places are Matthew 25:1 and 6 and Acts 28:15.

Matthew 25:1, 6. . . . . .  ‘Look the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him

When Christ returns they will not rise up into heaven from where he came, but will be escorted to earth where he will set up his eternal spiritual kingdom.

Acts 28:15a. [They] had heard we were coming and they came to meet us at the Forum . . . .

They did not go back to where Paul had come from, then disappear for years.

The Greek word used for ‘meet’ is most often synantó. However apantēsis is used by Paul. In the papyri it describes a newly arriving magistrate. “It seems that the special idea of the word was the official welcome of a newly arrived dignitary” (Moulton, Greek Test. Gram. Vol. I, p. 14). The citizens of the city would go out to meet the dignitary and joyfully bring him back with them to the city, not back to where he came from.

The dignitary in Mat 25 is the bridegroom (Jesus) and in Acts 28 it is Paul. But in 1 Thes 4:17 it is the Lord. This ‘meeting’ is not up in heaven but movement across the land on earth and not upwards is indicated!

In the gospels we read about many followers of Jesus went outside the city of Jerusalem with palm branches to greet Jesus as he entered the city. This was the ancient custom in welcoming someone important by going out and then escorting them back into the city.

What is meant by ‘air’                                                                                       

The Greek word aer is not the air we breathe but the spiritual realm. See also Ephesians 2:2 in which satan is described as the ‘prince of the power of the air’. In that spiritual realm both those raised, together with those remaining at his coming will be with the Lord forever.

The word aer is infrequent in the NT. Paul could have used the Greek οranos which has a different meaning than aer.  The word aer refers to the lower, dense air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air, the “heavens” as οranos can also be translated heavens, heavenly, and heaven (218 times).  Paul chose to use the word that refers as a rule to the lower atmospheric region—where people live and breathe!

It’s time to think logically, rationally

If all the apostles believed in a literal ‘rapture’ event, it would be mentioned in all of their letters. But out of all the over 100 references in the NT which mention Jesus’ imminent return, only this letter, mentions anything like a so-called ‘rapture’. Surely that is enough evidence to show that this teaching is spurious.

If I tried to make a teaching that was based on just one passage in the New Testament I would be mocked, ridiculed and ignored.

Since 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is the only clear and direct reference rapture teachers can use, why do people accept it? Peer pressure? If 90% of Christians believe it, then it must be OK? Whole denominations, churches, bible colleges, pastors, authors, movies seemingly deploy any manner of manipulative, dramatic emotionalising in order to promote this notion. There’s a price to pay if one dares to go against the mob. You can be called crazy, a heretic, or be excluded from fellowship, or lose friends. I speak from experience.

Are you expecting Jesus to return? That is logically impossible if you trust Paul’s letters are the Word of God. If his coming was near, soon, for Paul’s readers, how can it near for us?

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The Man of Lawlessness

Posted on 08/03/2025 | Leave a comment

Introduction

Shortly after writing 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul received a report (2 Thess. 3:11) that the Thessalonian church had accepted the strange claim that “the day of the Lord has come” (2:1–2). Paul sent them a second letter in A.D. 49–51. He was probably in Corinth at the time. This letter was addressed to the Thessalonians.2000 years ago when these people and Paul were expecting Jesus’ imminent return in their lifetime. It was seriously relevant to the Thessalonians. It is not relevant for us as 2000 years have passed but it useful for our studies and the truth is always relevant.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-9

  1. Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.
  2. Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the son of destruction.

Paul here assured the Thessalonians that a great rebellion against God and therevealing of a man who opposes God and exalts himself above everything that is called God must occur before Jesus’ return. Jesus told the disciples in the Olivet discourse (Mat 24:10-12) about this falling away.

4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

Paul described this “man of lawlessness” as being empowered by Satan, performing signs and wonders, and deceiving many (verse 9).

Who was this son of destruction? Was it the Roman general Titus who entered the Jerusalem temple?

Josephus wrote that Titus entered the Holy of Holies with his generals in A.D. 70. (Wars, 6.4.7.) Shortly thereafter, Titus was worshipped in the Temple as was customary of someone declared imperator. As Josephus wrote, “And now the Romans . . . brought their ensigns to the temple and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to them, and there did they make Titus imperator.”(Wars 6.6.1)  A metallic image of Vespasian and Titus was also worshipped at that time. Images of the emperor and his favourites were regularly attached to the Roman ensigns at that time. 


5. Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.

Jesus had spoken about these things to the disciples in the Olivet discourse, Matthew 24:15-16: “So when you see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains”. Daniel, during the Babylonian captivity, had written about this happening just before His return. Jerusalem and the temple were to be destroyed and countless numbers of Jews would perish at the hands of the Romans.

Paul had told the Thessalonians about all this when he visited them previously. They already knew so he didn’t have to repeat what he had said. But Paul didn’t repeat it in this letter so it is difficult for us to know what was ‘holding him back’ from his appearing. We are left to assume that Paul never bothered to record this information in writing.


7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie

Paul wrote to them about this lawlessness being already at work—the hidden, evil Satanic forces at work in the world opposed to God and His people.

So who or what is the one holding the man of lawlessness back? Many attempts have been made to identify this person or entity.

I believe the only possible explanation is that God is the restrainer, as He is the only one who can restrain Satan. God restrains evil and eventually turns unrepentant sinners over to indulge in evil (Romans 1:20-24, 26, 28). And Job reveals that God prevents Satan from certain activities (Job 1:10-12). Only God can restrain evil and the man of lawlessness.  

Paul said the one who is holding it back would step out of the way. When that would occur then the man of lawlessness would be revealed and the Lord Jesus would overthrow him and destroy him by the splendour of his coming. 

But does it really matter that we today know the identity of the one who Paul believed restrains him? That wasn’t Paul’s issue in this letter. His concern was that the Thessalonians were worried they had missed the Lord’s coming and to reassure them that they would not miss out.

We may be curious of course. And for those today, even after 2000 years, who believe the Satanic lie that Jesus is yet to return, it arouses a lot of comment. The man of lawlessness has indeed been revealed and the Lord Jesus long ago overthrew him.

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