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Author Archives: Stephen Nielsen
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I’ve been reading the story of Corrie ten Boom. I was surprised at the information told regarding Hitler and the Third Reich—from Corrie’s perspective. Back then they didn’t have up-to-date news as we do now, so the takeover of Hitler was quite a shock to the European people. Here are a few quotes.
- A growing evil appeared on the eastern horizon…a socialism of the most heartless kind (this seems much like we feel now in America).
- It is called the National Socialist German workers Nazi party.
- They were called progressives (sound familiar?). In this Nazi party the poor, the old, the feebleminded, and the handicapped were enemies of progress. And soon the Jews became enemies too.
- The leader among the Nazi party, Hitler, appeared laughable at first, comical, then maddening.
- This man Hitler sounded like the devil himself…he was afraid of no one…he was diabolically shrewd.
- They walked into Czechoslovakia and took over the entire country. They invaded Poland, Norway, and Denmark.
- The Dutch people of Haarlem (where Corrie lived) walked the streets in a daze. Within two days the Dutch army surrendered.
- The Germans were very well-organized.
Of course, the worst of it was quite hidden from everyone—the concentration camps and the brutal extermination of so many Jews. In my reading, I’m just getting into the parts when they were hiding Jews behind fake walls. It was quite an operation—a labor of love!
My Work
I just finished a long painting job, taking all of August and into Sept. The job had good points and bad point. I’ll get the bad points over first. There were a lot of high areas where ladders and roof jacks were involved and as a result I now have some rib injuries; but it is healing up. And painting the high fence around the yard was not fun—trying to get in behind the flowers and tall bushes.
But the good points I think far out-weighed the bad points. The people, which I have known for over thirty years, are very kind., They invited me for lunch every day, and they also were very complimentary of all my work and paid me well. I will keep them in my prayers as they are very old. I have been retired for a about ten years—but still working. Maybe now, after my rib injuries, I will start taking my retirement more serious
The Last Great Battle
This is the next event after the one-thousand-year reign of Christ—a great battle between Satan and Christ and His saints. We have this event recorded for us in Revelation twenty, verses seven through ten.
When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The result of this battle, as you may surmise, gives us the result of the final test for man, as we have just written above—that they will not be able to save themselves apart from God’s help and the redeeming blood of Christ. But let us fill in the details as much as we can from just these four verses.
Verse 7. This verse tells us clearly that when the thousand years are completed God will release Satan from his prison. And some may ask why. Why would God do that? The answer is obvious. It is to test, or to reveal, the character of the rebellious ones who are on the earth and to bring them to judgment.
Verse 8. Here we see that Satan immediately does what he has planned to do all along if given a chance; he does what is natural for him, to deceive. And he will deceive not just a few. This time he will go out with his demons and deceive all those in the world that are here referred to as Gog and Magog. This term is a title (used also in the Ezekiel war, Ezek. 38, 39) to refer to rebels who are enemies of God. And they are evil people that are spread out all over the earth—many of them, probably millions of them. The devil and his demons will deceive them into coming together with him to war against Christ.
Verse 9. Here we are told that they (the rebels) “came upon the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.” Most commentators will interpret this to say that they came and spread over all the land up to the city. But I think we can be more detailed than that. The “broad plain” I think may refer to how the land around Jerusalem will be. In Zechariah 14:10 it tells us that all the land for miles around Jerusalem will be changed; it will be converted into a great plain with the city rising above the plain. This change will be part of the early millennial land renewal project, probably for the growing of gardens and crops.
Nonetheless, they will come on this broad plain, which will probably hold millions of the rebels; and then, just as they will be intending to storm the saints and up into Jerusalem where Christ reigns, God will send fire from heaven to devour them.
Verse 10. The devil, apparently not hurt by the fire, was captured alive and thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where he will meet his old friends the beast and the false prophet—having been there for a thousand years. They, all three of them, with the demons, will suffer there day and night forever and ever. We are not told anything about the millions of rebels that were fighting with Satan, but I imagine that their bodies will be incinerated by the fire and their souls will be sent to hell. Then, it will happen very soon that their bodies also will be resurrected, judged at the Great White Throne, and then cast into the lake of fire.
How to Strengthen Your Prayer Life
The Millennial Kingdom
I will be quite brief on this subject, but if you want to dig deeper I invite you to read my book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom.6
After the disastrous effect of the seven-year Tribulation and an urgent need for renewal (although, the Tribulation fires may be a part of the renewal process), I imagine that the first thing on the agenda for the millennial kingdom will be the setup. The very first on the list will be to lock up Satan and his demons (Rev. 20:1-3). After the old dragon is put away, the next on the list—though there is no way we can know the exact order of things—may be to establish a new and righteous government with new rulers (Isa. 9:6-7). Next, I suppose, is to enlarge the borders of Israel (where the new administration will be located); and also, to redistribute the land according to how it has already been planned (Ezek. 48). Then they will begin building the new temple with a new system of worship (read Ezekiel 40-44). And a new glorious city of Jerusalem will also be built (Ezek. 48:30-35). But this is not the heavenly city spoken of in Revelation 21.
After those thing are set up, a restoration process on the earth will begin—if it hasn’t already begun. Some things, like the removal of the earth’s curse (on the ground, the atmosphere, and the animals) will be taken care of immediately through God’s miracle wonders. But most other changes will be affected gradually.
Because of His strong government and His crack down on crime, idol worship, and false teaching, the earth will begin to experience peace and justice, joy and gladness, protection and comfort.
In addition to the ruling of Christ from His throne, His brilliant teachings will be heard everywhere. As Isaiah tells us, “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).
Now besides the renewal process, there are three more important purposes for the millennial kingdom that we will now mention briefly.
1. To fulfill God’s eternal covenants with Israel. What we are talking about is the Abrahamic covenant and its tributary covenants: the Palestinian covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the New covenant. These carry the promise of land, the promise of descendants, and the promise of salvation and blessing. And they have certainly have been partially fulfilled, showing the literal nature of the covenants. But in the Millennium they will be completely fulfilled. Here in five points is a picture of this fulfilment.
- Israel (the Jews) will possess all the land that was promised to them according to the covenant in Genesis 15:18-21.
- Israel’s possession of the land will be a permanent possession. In both Genesis 13:15 and in Genesis 17:8, Abraham’s descendants were promised the land as an everlasting possession.
- Abraham’s descendants will forever be blessed with physical and spiritual blessings (Gen. 12:2; 22:17).
- Israel will be a blessing to all nations. As a result of God blessing the Jews with His wisdom and knowledge, all the world will be more prosperous and will live well.
- All nations will bless Israel. In the millennial kingdom, as never before, when God blesses Israel, and as Israel blesses others, they will in turn bless Israel (Gen. 12:3; 27:29).7
2. To display the character and glory of Christ. It is altogether proper for every person in the Millennium to lift up Jesus Christ for His works and for all He is. And the kingdom will in fact display His character and glory. He is the one who will bring renewal to the earth by His mighty miracles and by His government and teaching. And all will see His glory on His throne as Prophet, Priest, and King. We will see Him as Priest in His governorship; we will be mesmerized by Him as Yahweh; and we will glorify Him as the Good Shepherd, as our Savior and Redeemer, and as Jesus Christ the anointed One or Messiah.
3. To provide a final test for man. Let me begin this section by telling you, first of all, that the test is not for the redeemed, but only for those who choose not to believe. Secondly, we already know the result of this test according to what the book of Revelation reveals. And here is the result of the test. We will find that those that are unregenerate, even under the most ideal circumstance will not be able to save themselves and to make themselves fit for the eternal kingdom—and in the end will be deceived by Satan and choose to rebel (with Satan and his demons) against God. Hence, we will see that man always needs God and the redeeming blood of Christ to save Him from his sins.
6 Stephen Nielsen, The Coming Millennial Kingdom (published by Stephen Nielsen, http://www.stephennielsen.com., 2017).
7 Ibid., pp. 105-112.
Late Summer Photos
Most of the Minnesota wildflowers have faded away, but there are a few little ones still, and an abundance of yellow sunflowers.
Four Sins that Keep us from Prayer
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
It is likely that on the very day that all the evil nations come against Jerusalem and Judah to destroy them (Zech. 12:2-4), that that will be the day when Jesus Christ will come in the clouds of glory. He will come to rescue all of His believers (Jews and Gentiles) and to bring judgment on all unbelievers. Yes, He will come triumphantly in the clouds of glory (possibly the Shekina glory), riding on a white horse with heavenly armies and angels following Him on white horses.
And when He appears in the sky every eye will see Him; and most people will mourn with guilt over their sins—without repentance. But those of the house of David (the Jews), they will also mourn, but with repentance (Zech. 12:10-14); and so, they will be saved. And He will fight for all Israel, both for those in the wilderness and also for those who are yet alive in Jerusalem.
His purpose for coming is clear. He comes to judge and destroy all evil. He will cast the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20); He will kill the rest of the unbelievers at Armageddon with the sword; and later He will gather all nations together (all gentiles that are still alive), and judge them for how they treated His people (Matt. 25:31-46).
His purpose is also to set up His throne on earth—the throne of David. And He will rule on His throne and over His kingdom with His saints. And in His kingdom He will determine that His covenant program with Israel be fulfilled.
Why Prayerlessness is Sin
The Tribulation
After the Rapture of the church and all of the things that will follow it (such as the setting up of a global government and a global religion, and the failed Gog and Magog invasion) begin to happen; and as soon as a very popular leader (soon to be the Antichrist) will begin talking of world peace and of making a peace plan with Israel, and eventually puts that plan is in place, that is when the seven-year Tribulation officially begins.
We won’t at this time spell out in any detail the events of the Tribulation; but we will highlight the source, purpose, and nature of the Tribulation. It’s source is God’s wrath against evil, dished out in two ways: 1) by Satan and the Antichrist, and 2) through natural means such as earthquakes and storms.
Its purpose is two-fold: 1) primarily to prepare Israel for her Messiah, and 2) to punish the world of sin for its evil.
The nature of the Tribulation is tied to God’s wrath. We may see it as a day of destruction and disaster, a day of trouble and distress, a day of vengeance and wrath, and a day of fear and terror.
All these descriptions of His wrath will come to the earth in three different sets of seven intensifying judgments. They are labeled in Scripture as seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls—all intended to punish the world for its evil, but also to bring the nation of Israel, and any other sinners, to repentance and salvation.
We should also mention the very important last things of the Tribulation. Over all, there will be what is known as the war of Armageddon. Within this war time is, first, the fall of Babylon—which is the destruction by God of Antichrist’s evil empire. Then, immediately after that is the fall of Jerusalem (but take note that about three years earlier about a third of Israel will escape into the mountains for safety). So, these remaining ones are those who will be killed or captured (Zech. 12:2-4; 14:1-2).
The climax of Armageddon and the Tribulation is the visible return of Jesus Christ.
Stephen Nielsen 