The Second Rapture Dream

Last night, I had an amazing experience. It was a dream, or rather a dream vision because it was very

detailed and felt more real than reality to me. It was a vision of the rapture of the saints, the second one I ever had in my life.

The first one I had while still an unbeliever who did not know the Bible very well and had no idea what it was. The account of the first dream that I had about 20 years ago can be found here : The Rapture Dream, so you can see that I do not have this type of dream visions often. Anyways, back then I had no idea why I was going up, it happened very fast and I wondered who or what am I going to see when I go through the clouds. This time, I knew, but I received much more detail about it. it happened as if in slow motion, so that I could absorb all the details.

I was in a some sort of a large building. I went to the bathroom. There was a window there. Suddenly I was aware of someone's very tangible presence, but I could not see anybody. Then, I began to feel something in the atmosphere rapidly changing. It became more and more electric. I looked at the power lines outside the window. They were shaking and then they became white. First I thought that it might be some sort of atmospheric discharge, a solar flare or magnetic storm. Then I began to feel it in my body too, like the power was going through me and I realised that it was the very presence and the power of God. I had felt it before during strong worship at times, but never that strong. My body began to slowly rise. By then I knew it was the rapture and I got excited.

"O my Lord, I thought. It is really happening. I am going to meet the Lord in the clouds! I am going to finally see Him face to face! But what about my family? Are they going too?" I decided that I should not worry about that though, but trust the Lord that they were in His hands Like I was. I looked around there were other people rising too, then I looked down. Huge crowds of people were gathering, watching us go. I looked up again and was filled with joy in the anticipation of the greatest family reunion the world has ever seen.

"Oh, Lord. is this really happening?" I asked and I began to wake up. It was four in the morning. The experience was so real that I still felt the wind blowing in my face and the Lord's power inside my body. I began to cry and pray, "Lord, may I be found worthy when that they comes. I want to be there more than anything in the world." Then I thought about the crowds of people who were looking at us go and I realized that those were going to be left behind. I felt grief for them. I thought about my family members, especially those who do not walk with the Lord and friends. I felt a strong desire to have them with me on that day realizing that the only thing that will matter then is who is going to go with me, nothing else.

Now, as I wrote before in my other posts, I don't know exactly when this will happen. The Bible does not give us the day, hour or year, but it does give us a season. Apostle Paul mentioned that it was shown to him that it will take place at the sound of the last trumpet. Paul was a Hebrew, he knew the feasts of the Lord, and he was talking about the feast of Trumpets (Roshashana), which is going to begin this year on September 21 and last until September 23rd. On September 21 st there is going to be a UN declared International Peace Day and the theme will be : "Together for Peace, Respect, Safety and Dignity for All."

Notice those two words and compare it to the following verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:3, "While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape." It is a very interesting coincidence, especially because on September 23 rd there will be what many call a Revelation 12 sign in heavens as well.

I am not saying that the Rapture for sure will happen this year, but it will happen at this time one of these years. It might be this year, next year or 50 years from now, but it is coming and we need to be ready for it. I am also not sure why the Lord gave me this dream precisely now, but I decided to be obedient and share it immediately anyway, just in case.

While I was deeply saddened for the people left behind, the following verse resounded loudly within my spirit : "For many are called, but few chosen.” ( Mat. 22:14) I understood it more deeply than ever before this morning, and later I did a word study on this. it is from Jesus' parable of the wedding feast. remember that the Rapture is also called a "marriage supper of the Lamb," in the Bible. Many are called. This means a great multitude had been invited. The call from God has been going out to nearly everyone over millennia now. All are invited, all are called to be there, but very few by comparison chose to accept an invitation. The choosing is not done by God. He does not pick just select few. The way it is written in Greek makes it clear that it is the ones who are invited who do the choosing. Please choose to be there. Choose today to accept Jesus' sacrifice of the cross, choose to follow Him, to walk the narrow path. Remain faithful to Him and His Word. Do not bow to the pressure from the world to deny Him by forsaking His commandments and by not standing up for what is right. It is not easy, I know. People make fun of those who walk this path. It is easier to walk the wide road, but it leads only to destruction. Now, I also understand what Jesus meant by  the outer darkness. It will become very dark in this world after the Church is gone. Life will be very hard, especially for those who will reject the mark of the Beast. They will pay with their lives for their faith. Don't wait until then. Accept God's invitation now, so that He may keep you from the hour of testing that will come upon the whole world. ( Revelation 3:10)

The Need For More Prayer As U.S. Continues to Be Hit By Powerful Storms

As I mentioned in my previous posts, we are currently on the Hebrew month of Elul. It is a month of

prayer and repentance leading up to the Day of Atonement. Following the total solar eclipse on Elul 1 ( August 21) over America, the entire continent, but especially the United States had been dealing with one natural disaster after another.

From the catastrophic forest fires in Western Canada, to mega earthquake in Mexico, to double whammy of storms in form of hurricanes Harvey and  Irma that devastated the states of Texas and Florida respectively.

As believers we must pray for the Church of America to rise up in prayer of repentance for their nation from which quite clearly God's hand of protection has been lifted as most of the nation turns away from the Gospel.

The Church must return to their first love, begin walk in holiness, and stand up in prayer for their nation and as example to the nation. Jesus is the answer. We must also continue to pray for the hedge of protection over those who are walking faithfully with Him, but are in the midst of destruction because of the sins of the nation as a whole.

These are the "last days" and the "end time" indeed. Jesus predicted that before Hos return all these things will begin to happen I greater intensity :

"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” ( Luke 21:25-28)
Doesn't it sound just like what we are looking at right now? But the key is the last sentence. Don't be discouraged by all these things. Natural disasters, wars, rumours of wars, mega earthquakes in various places, the moral decay, the set up of global political system that one day will be taken over by the Antichrist. These are all the more reasons to draw ourselves and others more closely to The Lord. It is time to shine in the darkness and pain of this world. When the plagues were hitting Egypt, God's people where in the land of Goshen, protected and awaiting their redemption, and so are we.

And The Shofar Begins To Blow: The Great American Eclipse

Today, people all over America will be looking to the sky at the total solar eclipse. A special

astronomical event that last time happened in 1979. Solar eclipses happen often in different parts of the world, but they are rare over land. But what is even more special about this eclipse is that it falls on Elul 1 on a Hebrew calendar.


According to the research done by pastor Mark Biltz, the same thing happened in Nineveh just before God sent Jonah to preach that it would be destroyed in 40 days if people there did not repent, but of course they did repent and the city wasn't destroyed then.


There was a total solar eclipse on Elul 1 over Europe and the territory of the Ottoman Empire just before WW I began. the people there did no repent and that war destroyed the Ottoman Empire.


Could it be that God is warning America through this sign about an impending judgement and is calling them to repentance? The Hebrew month of Elul is a month of repentance and is leading up to Roshashana, the Feast of Trumpets, and culminates with the The Day of Atonement. And  33 days after Elul 1, there will be the sign of the virgin in the sky over Israel, exactly 7 days before the Day of Atonement.


Is The Lord trying to tell us something here? I think it is very likely as we are living in crucial times. America is still in danger of falling into the chaos similar to the civil war and we need to pray for American Church to wake up and continue to intercede for their country.


I believe The Lord has raised up Jewish men of God who follow Jesus as the Messiah and who understand the Hebrew calendar, such as Jonathan Cahn and Mark Biltz to sound an alarm and to help the church to be prepared for what is coming. We are after all living in the end times and just as Lord Jesus predicted we are seeing signs in the heavens and on the earth that the time of His return is drawing near. Now, we do not have to fear, but we do need to be alert.


I encourage you to watch the presentation by pastor Mark Biltz on this very subject where he shares many more fascinating details. Below is the  link:


Eclipse 2017

Why There Will Be No Doomsday On September 23, 2017

On September 23, 2017 there will be an astronomical convergence of sun, moon, stars and planets

that will exactly fit the description of the "great sign in heaven" mentioned in the beginning of chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation.

The interesting fact is that it will fall on a very special Shabbat Shuva that occurs during the 10 days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur according to the Jewish spiritual calendar. It is indeed very special because such  a convergence never happened before ( the closest one was about the time of Jesus' birth) and will not happen again at least for another 1000 years, so it is for sure a sign.

But many are using these facts and are adding to them their own theories of what this sign means and what they think will happen on that day. Some are even saying that the 6th seal of the Book of Revelation will be opened on that day, but  I don't think so.

I think, based on my 18 years of studying the Bible, that it might be God's call to repentance to both the world and most of all to His Church. It could be that this day and corresponding sign in the heavens signals the beginning of events and the period of time that apostle John prophesied about in the 12th Chapter of the Book of Revelation.

It begins with the description of the sign of the virgin in heaven, followed by another sign, that of the dragon. It describes how the dragon, which symbolizes Satan, tries to devour the child that the virgin is giving birth to as soon as He is born. And of course it brings us back to the time when something near to that sign occurred, the time of Jesus' birth, and how Satan induced Herod to try to kill baby Jesus, but the Book of Revelation was written around the year Ad 90, long after Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection, so the Virgin in the sign is not Mary as some interpret.

No, I believe that the Virgin stands for the nation of Israel because she was the one who gave birth to the Messiah ( Mary was a Jewish woman) and Satan was trying to destroy her ever since that time, but was unable to. Perhaps he will try to do it again in the near future and once again will fail.

John reveals that it will enrage him and he will begin to persecute " the rest of her offspring who hold the testimony of Jesus," meaning the Christians. We certainly are seeing this happening already today. Millions of Christians are being murdered in the Middle East and Africa right now while the world is mostly turning blind eye to that. As id this wasn't enough there are growing hostile attitudes towards Christians in the West, especially among those who hold on to radical leftist ideology who unfortunately hold most of political power right now and control the mainstream media. More and more people on the right as well as at the center ( classic liberals) begin to notice and are speaking out against that, but if the leftist will end-up winning the ideological battle, they will begin to viciously persecute all who disagree with them, especially the Christians.

It will reach its peak during the reign of Antichrist, but this does not happen until chapter 13. Before that, apostle John, also describes the war in heaven between Michael the Archangel and Satan and his angels after which , Satan is going to be thrown out of the second heaven to earth along with his angels. This is the spiritual war that will not be manifested physically, but nevertheless will happen and we will witness its results on earth. There will be war against Israel, which their enemies will lose, but as a result of Satan's coming to earth we will see an unprecedented increase in demonic activity, demonic possessions and false signs and wonders, including the  "alien visitations," that will result in a widespread deception  if possible even of believers.

Now, we don't know how long this period of time will be. it could be 7, 10 or more years, but we are about to enter this period soon and that is why we must be watchful and pray. We have to draw nearer to God because only under His wings and His blood we will be safe.

A Car in Niagara Draws Attention of Residents And Provokes Online Discussion

A car shown in the photo above was sighted at Costco parking lot in St. Catharines, Ontario recently. Someone just laughed and shared it online as something funny, but the discussions I saw below the post also revealed some negative attitudes that many people have towards religion and Christianity in particular and made me think a lot.

One person stated that the messages on the car are an example of very poor taste and an example unwelcome religious zeal, accusing the owner of hypocrisy for spending money on the car and those messages that would be spent better on helping the poor by donating them to the food bank.

I remarked in reply to that person that we don't even know who the owner is and suggested the possibility that this person might be spending a lot more money on helping the poor than they spent on this car, and pointed out the fact that before we begin criticizing someone else for something we should first check if we ourselves are not guilty of the very same thing.

And it is true that often people who judge others for spending money on unnecessary things instead of giving are the ones who are not very giving themselves, though it might not have been the case as I do not know the person who left that comment either.

But what I see in Canadian society in particular is a big entitlement attitude among "the poor", who think  of themselves as victims and that everyone owes them while they are poor because they refuse to take any responsibility for themselves while looking down on those who did and who experience financial success as a result of working hard and taking advantage of the opportunities that they are given.

Those people often spend many years studying or working on their business before they can even have an opportunity to have higher incomes and when they have them as much as 50% of that income is automatically taken by the government to help the "poor," but they still donate to charitable causes even on top of that while so many of the so called poor live on assistance in order to feed their destructive habits.

But there is also some legitimate resentment and criticism towards people who are well off, especially those of Christian faith because of  the financial abuse that some of the Christian leaders  engage in by living in luxury off of the donations often given by the poor members of their churches.

I remember one prosperity preaching pastor who saw an old clunker car on the road one day with "Jesus is coming soon," sticker on it. That pastor started making fun of the owner of the car whom he did not even know, saying that he should buy a fancier car and then put such sticker on it so, he/she would be a "better testimony". I could not help, but think that perhaps this person does not have a fancy car because they donate the money they could have spent on a better car to such people as that pastor! In fact I was one of such people at the time. I thought, "Here we sacrifice and drive an old beaten up car, so that we could donate to this man's ministry thinking it is for a good cause and he is making fun of me and others like me right into our faces while he himself drives a fancy car bought with those very donations. Needless to say we left that church, as did many others and it does not exist anymore.

So, I acknowledge that there is a hypocrisy in the church, but that does not mean that  all Christians are hypocrites. In our Western society we are very quick to scream at people who legitimately criticize us, "Don't judge me!" While we are all too eager to judge people whom we even don't know at all for the very things we are guilty of ourselves.

I guess it is best that we all first take the plank out of our own eyes before we try to take out the specks from the eyes of others. Whatever the motivation of the person who owns that car. He or She succeeded in making people think. God bless them.

Why I Am Not Worried About Rising Interest Rates

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada raised lending interest rates for the very first time in 7 years, and while there is a lot of concern about that among the financial experts and a lot of fear among those who have  high debt levels, people like myself are not worried at all right now because we do not have any debt.

We did what was right in that we learned how to live below our means, but we were continually being punished for it by low interest that was paid to us for our savings, and by high real estate prices.

So, the rising interest rates are bad news for people who are irresponsible and greedy, but very good news for those who are content. That is why truly contentment is a great gain in the long term.

But if you are the one who is in debt, don't panic. There is still time for you to bring your house in order, but that time gap is rapidly growing. The rise in interest rates was very small, but it will continue in the future. Being in debt is never good for you regardless of whether the credit is cheap or not. The borrower is always a slave to the lender. Don't be a slave.

The key to your freedom is contentment, because if you are content with what you have, you will not be greedy for more, and you will not be buying the things you don't need in order to impress the people you don't like. You will be free and you will not be wicked as only the wicked borrow and do not pay back. Cut down on your expenses now and pay your debts as soon as possible.

It feels truly great when you don't owe anything to anyone except love.  You are free from any financial anxiety.  And it is especially true if you are a Christian. You were bought at the great price to be free and not to be slave of people, especially of those who run the banks and you will be more free to give to causes that advance the kingdom of God instead of making the wicked system of this world that  is ruled by the devil rich. You cannot serve both God and mammon. Serve God. Pay your debts, give, and be blessed.

Author's Note: Image the courtesy of versaday.com

Study: What Is The Great Tribulation?

The Great Tribulation is mentioned four times in the New Testament. One of these mentions

is by Jesus Himself found  in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24 in which He linked this period to the time of  "trouble" such as never happened  since there was a nation prophesied of by Daniel ( Daniel 12:1). Both Hebrew and Greek words used in these passages for "trouble" and "tribulation" mean adversity, suffering, and persecution.

There were of course many times in history, including, even now when God's people were being persecuted and suffered greatly because of it, but it is evident from Scripture that during the time of Great Tribulation it will be worse than ever before, and that there will not be another time like this after.

Jesus placed this period after the "abomination of desolation" is set up in the Holy place. Many Bible scholars concluded that this event will be the Antichrist proclaiming himself God in the rebuilt Third Temple in Jerusalem, which is very plausible since the description of his global reign in the Book of Revelation 13:7-10 includes great persecution against both Israel and the gentile believers in Jesus:

"And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

If anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints."

 

The reason why Bible scholars think  that the reign of the Beast ( Antichrist) and the Great Tribulation are one and the same is that both last for 42 months, but the good news is that this period will be shortened by God Himself when He returns to Judge the earth and throw the Beast and his false prophet into the lake of fire before His 1000 year reign.

 

It is not clear from the Scripture exactly when in this chain of events the Rapture of The Saints will take place, whether before the Great Tribulation, during, or after it, but nowhere it these passages do we see Great Tribulation described as the wrath of God. Furthermore, Jesus told us Himself that in this world we will have tribulation, so I think it is wise that we prepare ourselves spiritually and physically for it just in case.

 

There is also a description of the great assembly of the saints who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb who according to Scripture " came out of the Great Tribulation." It is found in the Book of Revelation chapter 7:9-17:

 

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

So, we know for sure that there will be believers in Jesus living during this terrible time. though we don't know whether it will be the Church or the people who will come to faith in Jesus after the Rapture, one thing is certain, God will deliver them out of it in one way or another, and those who die during Great Tribulation for their faith will share  the victory of Christ over the Beast:

 

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Great Tribulation therefore is the reign of the Beast ( Antichrist) and a short lived wrath of the devil, and not of God.

Author's Note: Image courtesy of pintrest.com