Author Archives: Stephen Nielsen

Unknown's avatar

About Stephen Nielsen

I'm an author, a self publisher, and a painting contractor. I live in beautiful Minnesota, USA . Welcome to my blog site.

The Source Of The Tribulation

Posted on by
1

The source of Tribulation is primarily the execution of God’s wrath on the earth. This wrath, as we will see from the following verses, is different from what we have now. It is much more intense and with a purpose. Here, without any comment, is a few references on the One who will bring wrath to the earth during the Tribulation period. Notice, for emphasis the bold type.

Isaiah 24:1-6

Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. 5 The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

Isaiah 26:21

21 For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place

To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

And the earth will reveal her bloodshed,

And will no longer cover her slain.

Joel 1:15

Alas for the day!

For the day of the Lord is near,

And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Zephaniah 1:17-18

And I will bring distress on men,

So that they will walk like the blind,

Because they have sinned against the Lord;

And their blood will be poured out like dust,

And their flesh like dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold

Will be able to deliver them

On the day of the Lord’s wrath;

And all the earth will be devoured

In the fire of His jealousy,

For He will make a complete end,

Indeed a terrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Revelation 6:15-17

And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”

Revelation 11:18

“And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Revelation 14:6-7

And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

Revelation 14:9-11

And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Revelation 14:18-19

And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

Revelation 15:7-8

And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

Revelation 16:1

And I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth.”

Revelation 16:7

And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.”

Revelation 16:19

And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

Revelation 19:1-2

After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”

Jesus and the Pharisees: Luke 17:20-21

Posted on by
1

This is our thirty-first study. Please click HERE for an introduction to this study.

Luke 17:20-21

20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

Observations

John MacArthur has stated that the Pharisees “may have asked the question mockingly, having already concluded that He was not the Messiah.” Jesus’ response no doubt surprised the Pharisees; they believed that the Messiah’s triumph would be immediate. They were looking for Him to overthrow Rome. They most certainly were not thinking that they needed to look within them for the kingdom.

Application

The kingdom of God is within us. And we need to make Him our Lord.

Three Reasons Why We Should Pray With Earnestness?

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 

We could probably come up with several reasons to pray with earnestness.  Here are three that stand out to me.

First of all, we should pray with earnestness because of our great need for God.  Truth has gone out the window, sin is rampant, and the world is lost.  Where once swearing and dirty talk was forbidden on TV and radio, now it is common place and even applauded.  Where once adultery, immorality and divorce were shameful, now it is accepted as the norm, even among those who say they are Christians.  Today pornography is everywhere; you can’t go anywhere or do anything without seeing it.  Yes, we (all people) have a great need for God and for moral purity.  For this reason, prayer is needed—earnest prayer is needed!

Secondly, we should pray with earnestness because it is the way Jesus prayed and the way He would want…

View original post 236 more words

World Peace, Temple Preparation and The Peace Covenant

Posted on by
1

We can’t be sure when the Antichrist will be Satan inspired to the point where he will know who he is and what he will do; but it seems to me that when he begins to work toward world peace, and especially peace with Israel, that that may be the point at which Satan starts to inspire him in his thinking. We know that he won’t be fully possessed and controlled until the midpoint of the Tribulation, but it could be that for a time, at certain points along the way that he will be Satan inspired, even if he is not fully aware of what Satan will want him to do. Here are a few ways in which he will demonstrate world peace and peace with Israel.

1. After the Rapture he may try to comfort the world by bringing a logical explanation of the disappearances. And he will no doubt agree with the top new agers.

2. He will bring a hearty endorsement of the new global religion, and this will be seen as the best way to draw people together in peace.

3. He may take credit for Israel’s success over the Muslim’s failed invasion of Israel in an effort to move the world toward him as a hero and as Israel’s champion. We don’t know how he will manage this, but with today’s fake news in the media, we know that any evil thing is possible.

4. He will make plans and put himself in charge of building the third temple. This will most certainly stir the hearts of most Israelis and they will see him as a hero of peace for Israel and for the world.

I think the signing of the 7-year peace covenant will certainly be tied to his promise to help Israel build their temple. And I think it will guarantee a peace for Israel as they reinstate their worship in the temple without Muslim conflict.

Now we know that the peace plan will be broken in the middle of the week (after three and one-half years), but nonetheless, all that this man will do in terms of world peace for Israel and for the world will be a sign that the beginning of the Tribulation is coming soon; and as soon as he signs that peace agreement, that will be the beginning point of the Tribulation (Dan. 9:27).

Jesus and the Pharisees: No servant can serve two masters (Luke 16:13-15)

Posted on by
Reply

This is our thirtieth study. Please click HERE for an introduction to this study.

Luke 16:13-15

13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

Observations

When Jesus set forth the principle, you cannot serve God and money, the Pharisees sneered at Jesus, because they believed that their own riches justified themselves before God. And this, their self-righteousness, was their downfall.

Application

The love of money is idolatry. Money is useful only if it is used to benefit His kingdom—otherwise it will be our downfall. Therefore, let us stay away from any thought of getting rich for our own good. Let us despise that idea.

Pretending to Pray with Earnestness

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

  

When I was young, I vividly remember sitting in church during prayer time, looking around, seeing how people were praying. I remember especially my mother, how she seemed to be very sincere, and even at times crying. I think she was the one who demonstrated to me what earnest prayer was. But I also think that many go through life just faking it, pretending to pray. Why? Because they don’t have a relationship with God. They either aren’t a real Christian, or they just haven’t developed a relationship with Him.

The following is a study I did a long time ago on what Earnestness in prayer isNOT.

 Earnestness in prayer is not prayer that is without sincerity, seriousness, and intensity; hence, it is not prayer that is phony, flippant, and indifferent.  Earnest prayer is not prayer that does not recognize prayer needs or the…

View original post 276 more words

The Rise of the Antichrist

Posted on by
1

Even before the Rapture of the church—which will come before his ultimate rise to power—the Antichrist will be a man fully engaged in the military. We see this about him in Daniel 11:37-38; it says that “he will honor a god of fortresses.” In fact, it also says that “he will honor him [his military god] with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures”—which means that he will spare no expense in financing his military might.

We also know that he will at some point rise to power in the government; and ultimately it will be the government of the E. U.  I say that because of what it says in Daniel 9:26. In that verse, “the prince who is to come” is referring to the Antichrist; and “the people of the prince” are the Romans, the ones who destroyed the city and the sanctuary—which already happened in A.D. 70. Therefore, this passage is prophesying that the Roman people (which is part of the E.U.) will have a prince, and this prince will be the Antichrist.

We don’t know for sure when it will all come about, but we know that there will be ten kings with ten kingdoms that will be set up in the E. U. It is my guess that he will be totally engaged in that work, so much so that he will have no time for a normal life; for as Daniel 11:37 says, “And he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.”

He probably won’t be fully convinced in himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:4) until Satan possesses him at the midpoint of the Tribulation. However, I imagine that he will be demonized before that time, to the point that he will have no time for anyone else except himself; and he will more and more believe that he alone will fix the problems of the world.

In addition to government and military business, he will make it his business to aid and encourage those religious leaders who will be setting up a new global religion. For I think he will see how all the world is being influenced by the new religion and he will see that he must jump on that bandwagon to be effective himself.

In fact, Scripture (Rev. 17:2-3) seems to indicate that he and all the world leaders will be influenced and taken in with her false teaching, to the point that she (the harlot, which is the name given to the false religion) will control him. But soon, when he is given full power by Satan, he will destroy her.

Shortly after the rapture of the church, and after the Ezekiel war (Ezek. 38-39), he will find his opportunity to focus on world peace.

Jesus and the Pharisees: from Luke 15:1-7

Posted on by
1

This is our twenty-ninth study. Please click HERE for an introduction to this study.

Luke 15:1-7

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Observations

In this parable the Pharisees though that the sinner had to seek God and His forgiveness—to earn the right to be in His presence. But God turns it all around. He is the one who reaches out to the sinner, to befriend the sinner in order to save him. God loves every one of his created ones, even those who are not yet found (saved).

Application

We all have a lot of work to do to bring the lost back into the fold. We must do whatever it takes to bring them to salvation. We must be a friend to them.