Lesson 2 END TIMES

END TIMES CHARTS

The Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation is a prophetic book of codes and symbols of the world to come. God revealed to John and whosoever reads it shall be blessed. It is important to understand God 's outline of history or dispensations. It highlights beginning of church age.

God promise of His coming. He will come to rapture his church- time of the coming of  the Lord is not known but the signs will be clear. His purpose is redemption, resurrection, rewards  ( crowns of life, righteousness, glory, eternality and rejoicing) and rapture

God rapture his church- the dead in Christ - resurrected saints and those that are alive - translated saints. They will be given a special body in heaven before the Tribulation 7 year period i.e pre-Tribulation rapture. It can relate to the 7 prophetic days – week of restoration.

After that, God send His judgement,  starting the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy which we experienced the opening of the 7 seals- and 4 horsemans white, red, black and pale, the 7 trumpet judgements in which 50% of the earth perished in the first half of the Tribulation ( 3.5 years).

The 2 beasts  appear and we see the rise of the Anti-Christ and False Prophet who controlled the world- with its miracles, image and mark.

God will send 2 special  individuals ( Elijah and Moses )- the 2 olive trees, the 2 lampstands or 2 prophets- to warn the people against taking the mark of the beasts and to repent and turn to God. Satan was cast out of heaven and he joined with Anti Christ to kill the 2 witnesses from God- their bodies lie on the street and they were resurrected up to heaven. 144,000 Jews were sealed or converted.

At the end of the first half of  3.5 years- there will be the Abomination of Desolate when Anti-Christ stand in the holy place- great tibulations will follow.

God send the 7 bowl judgements during this Great Tribulation (second half of 3.5 years). Huge armies of world gather to defeat Israel in the battle of Armageddon.

Then we see the Second Coming of Christ to setup his kingdom- The Messiah -Jesus come to claim His Bride- the church  and there will be a Marriage of the Lamb in heaven. By His coming, sitting on a white horse, his name is Faithful and Truth, with the armies of heaven- the saints. God supernaturally comes to rescue Israel and destroyed the Beast and False Prophets who were cast into the Lake of Fire. Satan was bound in hell or the bottomless pit for 1 thousand years or Millennial.

The sheep (believers)  and goat (unbelievers) judgement takes place.  This is the first judgement of who can enter into the Millennial period of peace and harmony. The believers - redeemed or resurrected saints reigned and rule with Christ.

After the thousand years, Satan is allowed to be released for a short while before being cast into the Lake of Fire.

Next the Great White Throne judgement takes place- the Book of Life is opened and whosoever whose name is not in the book shall be doomed to join Satan in the Lake of Fire- second eternal death. There will be a new heaven, new earth and new city.

Lesson 4    Special Pics

Fruit of the Spirit   

Lesson 5 Poems of Helen Steiner Rice

Climb Till Your Dream Comes True
  by: Helen Steiner Rice

Often your task will be many,
and more than you think you can do.
often the hills insurmountable, too.
but always remember
the hills ahead are never as steep as they seem,
and with faith in your heart, start upward
and climb 'til you reach your dream.
for nothing in life that is worthy
is ever too hard to achieve
if you have the faith to believe..
for faith is a force that is greater
than knowledge or power or skill
and many defeats turn to triumph
if you trust in God's wisdom and will.
there is nothing that God cannot do,
so start out today with faith in your heart
and climb till your dream comes true.

A Easter Prayer
  by: Helen Steiner Rice

God, give us eyes to see
the beauty of the Spring,
And to behold Your majesty
in every living thing -
And may we see in lacy leaves
and every budding flower
The Hand that rules the universe
with gentleness and power -
And may this Easter grandeur
that Spring lavishly imparts
Awaken faded flowers of faith
lying dormant in our hearts,
And give us ears to hear, dear God,
the Springtime song of birds
With messages more meaningful
than man's often empty words
Telling harried human beings
who are lost in dark despair -
'Be like us and do not worry
for God has you in His care'.

Everyone Needs Someone
by: Helen Steiner Rice

People need people and friends need friends,
And we all need love for a full life depends-
Not on vast riches or great acclaim,
Not on success or on worldly fame,
But just in knowing that someone cares,
And holds us close in their thoughts and prayers-
For only the knowledge that we're understood,
Makes everyday living feel wonderfully good,
And we rob ourselves of life's greatest need,
When we "lock up our hearts" and fail to heed,
The outstretched hand reaching to find,
A kindred spirit whose heart and mind,
Are lonely and longing to somehow share,
Our joys and sorrows and to make us aware,
That life's completeness and richness depends,
On the things we share with our loved ones,
and friends.

Brand New Start
  by: Jill Lemming,

God sometimes brings us to a place
where answers can't be found...
where we cannot see tomorrow,
for confusion all around.

Yet deep inside we realize
that all things work for good...
even times when we've been wounded
and we feel misunderstood.

Don't dwell on the injustice
and stay focused on God's heart...
find forgiveness and go on,
you can make a brand new start.

Lesson 6    Bible Parables 

The Sower And The Seed
Selah -- Spiritual Life
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Every time I post a study on the completed work of the Lord who took away all the sins of the world, and how all that's left for us to do is believe, I get a number of questions from people. These questions are always about others who don't seem to have been changed at all by their salvation experience. The writers ask me, "Where's the evidence of a changed life?" or, "What about sacrifice, and repentance, and death to sin?" or "Are you saying that just because a person went forward and mouthed some prayer, and then never did anything else, that means they're saved?"

If we look carefully we'll find that the Lord anticipated questions like these, and answered them in advance. In this case the answer can be found in Matt. 13, so that's where we'll look.

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop�a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matt. 13:3-9)

As He explained later in the chapter, the farmer represents the Lord, the seed is His word, the soil is the world, and the birds represent the evil one. While the parables He gave us in Matt. 13 are often called the Kingdom Parables, it's important to understand that this first one describes the whole world, not just His kingdom. In the world His word is met with four kinds of responses.

No Comprehension

The first kind is called the seed that falls on the path. It represents people who hear the word but fail to comprehend it. In Matt. 13:19 He said this is due to the fact that the evil one comes and snatches it away. Paul put it this way.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor 4:3-4)

Because of their lifestyle choices some people have developed a heart so hard that the Gospel cannot penetrate its shell. The words lie there on the surface for the enemy to sweep away lest any should slip into a crack and take root. When you try to share the gospel with these people, they look at you like you've come from another planet. It's foolishness to them, as Paul said it would be. (1 Cor. 2:14)

No Conversion

The Lord called the second response the seed that falls on the rocky places. This refers to people who hear the Gospel message and in the passion of the moment run forward for the altar call, but never really let the Lord into their hearts, so there's no conversion. It all sounded so good at that crusade or revival meeting and they got all caught up in the excitement of the event. But they didn't really open their hearts to the Lord so the first time someone laughs at or ridicules them for their beliefs they deny the Gospel and act like the altar call never happened.

Sadly this describes an overwhelming majority of those who come forward at public events. They don't ever wander into a church afterward, or even crack open their Bible, so they were never really saved at all. Had they sincerely asked the Lord to forgive them, they could have been part of the small minority who really does get saved this way, but they didn't give it a thought. They just jumped up and ran down front because it felt good at the time. Paul warned us against letting this happen to us.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col 2:6-7)

No Fruit

The seed among the thorns describes believers who are saved but are so distracted by the things of the world that they bear no fruit. Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) He wasn't talking about our salvation there because salvation is not a fruit bearing event. Fruit has an effect on others where salvation is purely personal. In other words, fruit is not something that happens to the branch, it's something that happens through the branch. And the branch does not make fruit grow by its own effort. It's the vine that does the work.

Why are there so many believers who don't bear fruit? It's because of the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. According to Matt. 13:22 they choke the Word and make it unfruitful. Preoccupation with the things of this world makes it impossible to hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit. This is probably the biggest group in all of Christianity, saved but not fruitful. This is the group some other believers look at and wonder, "Are those people really saved"? Odds are the answer is yes, but you'd never know by looking at them.

But before we go on, there's something we should remember. Living a "sacrificial life" is not the same as being fruitful. To sacrifice is to give up something for nothing, like the lambs did on the altar. They received no benefit from it. The notion that Christians have to live sacrificial lives is man's idea, not God's. Jesus said that He came so that we could have an abundant life, not a sacrificial one. (John 10:10)

Christians aren't asked to give up something for nothing. No one who is truly walking with the Lord thinks of it as a sacrifice, he thinks of it as a greater blessing than anything he could have otherwise received. People who take pride in living a sacrificial life are missing the point, and by denying themselves the things they secretly still want (it wouldn't be a sacrifice if they didn't), they not only aren't producing any fruit, they may just be performing works of the flesh. You can tell because the result is not joy, it's jealousy, envy or resentment toward others. These are not the fruit of the Spirit.

No Problem

The seed that lands in fertile ground produces a crop many times its size. This is the group that Paul wrote about in Galatians 5:22-26, where he also described the fruit we produce.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

This fruit grows when the gospel finds fertile soil. It impacts others, and draws them to the Lord. The peace and contentment we feel, and the love and kindness we express, causes others to want what we have. When they get it, they in turn draw still others, and without trying or even knowing, we'll have produced a crop that will multiply us over and over.

So we take pity on those for whom there is no comprehension and pray that the Lord will soften their hearts. And likewise for those for whom there was no conversion. The Gospel was just a passing fancy for them, a rush of emotion that never became a commitment. Let them hear it again, Lord, and this time may they choose to invite you in. And especially for those who though saved, are so caught up in the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth, that they're totally unfruitful. Help them gain the eternal perspective.

The best witness we can offer to the world lies not in doing what we think the Lord wants us to do, but in being what He wants us to be. So while we're at it let's pray that since we live by the Spirit, He'll keep us in step with the Spirit, so we won't become conceited, and begin provoking and envying each other. Amen. Selah 06-28-08

Lesson 8    TBA

Lesson 10   Living Words