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Boastful – from 2Timothy 3:2

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We come now to the third evil attribute, boastful, followed closely by the next attribute, arrogance. We may note that the first two attributes, to be lovers of self and lovers of money are directed only to self for self-pleasure. It is a self-idolatry or self-worship. Now, in addition to this self-pleasure and self-idolatry, men also in these evil times take on the evils of boastfulness and arrogance, which is more outgoing—or an evil designed to build up self. 

The term boastful comes from the Greek word alazones and has the meaning of “empty pretender.” In other words, it is a person that tries to exaggerate his importance or greatness. He is an empty braggart, but tries desperately to convince others of his greatness. The fourth attribute arrogance has a similar meaning: to speak pridefully of themselves; but they genuinely believe they are better than others; hence, this word for arrogance, hypereephanoi, may also be translated “haughty.” While the boastful man tries to impress others with words, the arrogant or haughty person is convinced (by deception) of his own greatness and acts with contempt toward those around him.

Now, let’s concentrate on this attribute boastful. The Greek word for boastful is found only in 2 Timothy 3:2 and in Romans 1:30. In the Romans passage you really get the flavor for its evil. In this passage (from verses 24 to 32) it speaks of those whom God gives up to their degrading passions: those with a depraved mind, who are filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents…”  

As you can see, this Romans list is very similar to the list in 2 Timothy. And so, we may conclude that they are both speaking of what people are like in the last days—which are these days, and which are getting worse and worse.

Here are a few more verses on boasting that I found in the Old Testament that may also shine some light on its basic meaning. In all the following verses the word translated boast and boastful are from the Hebrew word halal having the meaning, “To shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus, to be foolish.” This word seems similar to the Greek word alazones; and so, in a general sense of its pridefulness, I think we can use both Hebrew and Greek words for ideas of its basic meaning.

Psalm 49:5-6

Why should I fear in days of adversity,

When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me,

6 Even those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

Here we see the obvious difference in this Old Testament word Halal. Boasting is boasting; it is prideful and foolish. And here it is in one’s wealth. In 2 timothy and Roman it is more in the person of the one boasting.

Psalm 75:3-5

3 “The earth and all who dwell in it melt;

It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.

4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;

5 Do not lift up your horn on high,

Do not speak with insolent pride.'”

Here the one boasting is a wicked man. He does not believe in God. He obviously is boasting about his own strength and beliefs, and he lifts up his “fists in defiance at heaven.” (NLT of the Bible). God plainly tells us not to do that; that He is our creator.

God obviously is against the boastful man of these last times. He is boastful because he is an unbeliever and he is rebelling against God our creator. He boasts because he is making himself a god. He is lifting himself above the true God.

Psalm 97:7

7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,

Who boast themselves of idols;

Worship Him, all you gods.

All of us must be ashamed to have idols (things that we put before God). In the end (in His kingdom) all things will be subject to Him—will give Him worship. We must not boast and brag of all those things, and also about all our gifts and talents and strengths that we have received from God.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

Verse 23 is very close to the boasting of men in the last days. They will boast in their wisdom, their might and their riches. And they will not think about what they really should boast in—the Lord.

How the Love of Money Has Increased Over Time

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Since the beginning of time this evil has been with us. But we have seen the love of money sprout its evil wings, particularly in the last few decades—with the increase of knowledge, with new inventions, and with our growing economy.  Here are eight different causes by which the love of money has increased.

1. There are more ways to make money. With the worlds recent growing economy and technological advances, more people are working, and thus they have more opportunities to make money, to handle money, and to see money. This phenomenon no doubt has caused people to think more about money, thus increasing the love of money.

2. Because of credit cards and bank cards. The first credit cards came out in the early 1950’s. The positive aspect of these cards is their convenience. It is so much easier to present the card then to get out your check book and write a check, or to pay in cash, if you remember to carry enough cash. The negative side is remembering that your card is like money. I mean it comes out of your bank account. So, you have to know whether you have enough money in the bank. If you have a regular credit card, you can get into a lot of trouble—debt, because on most accounts you don’t have to pay it all back every month. This is where the love of money comes in. Since it is so convenient to use your card, people often forget that it is just like cash. And if they don’t have cash they very easily say, Oh I can put it on my card, no worry! And they end up using their card(s) very irresponsibly. And in many cases, they will sort of fall in love with their cards because they allow them to very easily buy whatever they want.

3. Through visual displays of wealth. It was not too long ago that photography and magazines were all in black and white. In the last few decades color has done wonders for our visual appetites, and unfortunately, it has stimulated our lust for wealth. There is nothing like excellent photography that makes advertising profitable; but on the evil side, it gives people a visual display of wealth causing them to fall in love with all that money can buy.

I suppose the temptation of wealth, mainly for young women is the glamor magazines. It will cause them not only to desire to be more beautiful, but to be rich and beautiful. And there are other magazines that sell new homes, new cars, and beautiful vacation spots. Again, these magazines are not only selling their product, but are causing the reader to desire to be wealthy—more than their neighbors!

Visual displays of wealth come not only in magazines but in stores selling everything imaginable. I’m sure you know that most people who shop in popular stores, like Walmart, buy much more than they need. They have been afflicted by the love of money.

4. Status and power. With the prospect of status and power more and more people are seeking job promotions or even entrepreneurship and owning their own business. And the more prosperous they become many are inflicted with greed and the love of money. But don’t get me wrong, promotion and owning a business does not necessarily equal something bad. It could be a blessing from God. However, if you don’t give Him the credit and thanks for it, you will become prideful and greedy.

5. Seeking a wealthy lifestyle. It seems like more and more these days people are seeing and dreaming about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, because of the happiness they think it will bring them. Of course, before the invention of television and the movies people had no such dreams. They had to rely on their own imaginations. But these days, with our computers and with AI giving everyone a boost, and with millionaires and billionaires everywhere, it is not hard to see and desire a wealthy lifestyle.

6. Mega churches. Paul taught that an overseer must be free from the love of money (1 Tim. 3:3); but I think that in many cases the main reason for building a large church is to bring in more people, in order to bring in more money. I have also heard (from reliable sources) that these mega churches follow a secular business model. Hence, in every respect they run the church like a business. I suppose that in some areas that is wise, but it shouldn’t be that way in every area. The churches’ goal should not be to make so much money, rather to minister to people, to teach people the truth from the bible.

7. Sports teams. The four most popular professional sports teams: baseball, football, basketball and hockey, have only been around for about 170 years. When the earliest teams (probably baseball) started the players didn’t make much more than the common laborer. But today superstar baseball players could make more than 40 million dollars in a single season.

Why the big jump in earnings? I have a house painting business and I make more money now, after four years in business, but good grief! I will never make as much as a baseball player. They say that the sports industry is driven by supply and demand. The supply is the few elite players and the demand is the demand for their performance calculated according to the money generated by what fans are willing to pay for ticket sales and for television and internet viewing. So, I suppose, there is a logical reason why sports players and owners are making so much money. But isn’t the demand coming from the fans—what they are willing to pay to see a game and certain players? Those who demand to see a game will use whatever money they are willing to spend on a ticket. They demand it! They demand it because they are lovers of themselves. And they are lovers of money because that money will allow them to pay for a ticket. Hence, sports teams, you could say, feed our lust for money and for our own entertainment desires.

8. Fraudsters. Recently, all over the country, and particularly in Minnesota where I live, fraudsters have been stealing hundreds of millions from government programs. These criminals set up fraudulent, non-profit shell companies that exist only on paper, and then link them together in complex networks to disguise who actually owns and controls them; then they systematically bill state agencies for services never rendered.

During the recent pandemic they organized what they termed “Feeding our Future,” and claimed to be feeding thousands of children daily, but it was all just on paper. They fed few to no meals and submitted rosters of fake names generated by software. They also pretended to make medical visits that were never made and phony healthcare agencies billed the state for the care. Once the government distributed the funds to the fictious companies, the money was rapidly funneled here and there to obscure the paper trail. Ring leaders spent millions of taxpayer money on luxury housing, sports cars, jewelry, and international travel. Hence, in this fraudulent scheme, it is plain to see that their motive was purely self-interest—the love of self and the love of money.   

How Our Self-love is Getting Progressively Worse

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From the time this letter to Timothy was written until now (nearly 2,000 years later), our self-love has gotten progressively worse; with, I suppose, dips and rises along the way. In evil times self-love increased, and in times of revival it decreased. But overall, I think in our near 2,000-year time span, it has gotten much worse. Here are seven areas where we can see the progressive worsening of self-love—particularly in the last fifty or sixty years.

1. Social Media. When computers came out, then cell phones, and then all the different social media companies (like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, X, and Pinterest), people (mostly young people) sort of vanished from normal person to person communication, even from telephone conversations. They instead buried their heads and minds into social media technology. We will have to admit that many social media platforms are quite helpful in making yourself known and selling a product; but it doesn’t do much for your character. In fact, social media is all about building up your self-image. And in a strange way it tends to make people self-centered and will build up for them a pedestal for their own idolatry.  

2. Pornography. Pornography, in one form or another, has been around for a long time; and in the last fifty years or so it has exploded. It can be seen in books, magazines, and videos, anywhere on the internet and even in social media.

I think this is one of the most deceptive evils there is, because the devil tells us, and our flesh tells us that porn is such a loving act; and when we view it, and also act on it, we feel the love—we feel that we are loving ourselves. But when it is over we feel betrayed and guilty. And it is highly addictive (read 1 Corinthians 7:18-20).

3. Gluttony. Gluttony is overeating; but it is also eating only what tastes good to us, with no regard to what is good for the body. I heard one person, in all honesty, say, I eat only what tastes good to me, not what I think is healthy. Sometimes when I go grocery shopping, I notice what other people buy. I see some carts loaded down with mostly chips, cookies, soda pop, ice cream, and cakes. They have no vegetables (fresh or frozen) at all! I also have noticed that these people are quite obese. Now, I don’t mean to be judgmental. I’m just telling you what I see. 

Gluttony has always been a problem for most people, especially in rich countries. It was a big problem with the Roman Emperors—who were rich. But I think it is especially a problem with the rich countries of today—like America, that have grocery stores everywhere, and where people can buy whatever they desire. Many of us see no problem with buying and eating all that we desire—all that tastes good to us. But when we do, we are guilty of the evil of self-love.

Interestingly, when the bible talks about gluttony it puts it next to drunkenness. And its result is poverty (Prov. 23:20-21; Deut. 21:20). I suppose that is because those who are guilty of it eat and drink all their profit away. Also, in Philippians 3:19 and Galatians 5:16 we may notice that those who do not walk by the Spirit and are enemies of the cross, their god is their appetite. This gluttony is the evil of self-love.

4. The Decline of the Family. God created the family to be a blessing to each other and for love. But when sin came the family began to slowly break down, and the good and healthy love of self was corrupted into a selfish and self-centered love. I heard the other day that the average child rate in a family is now 1.5 children per family—an all-time low. In 1950 it was about 4.5, and a few centuries before that it was much higher. In fact, in the family of John Wesley, he had seven sisters and three brothers. Likewise, the family of Jonathan Edwards was also large. Then he and his wife also brought ten children into the world. Those days are pretty much gone. And what is the reason? I would say that part of it is selfishness. Certainly, the women do not want to go through the pain of childbirth, and for the damage of her figure. As a couple, they may think a large family is just too hard.

But there are other points of selfishness that cause the decline of the family. From 1950 to the present, divorce has increase drastically. Abortion is also on the incline. Bringing a life into the world is just too hard. All in all, because of self-love the family suffers.

5. Self-image. In these wicked days, because of self-love there is more emphasis on self-image. Never before has there been so many beauty creams, treatments and surgeries to make ourselves look beautiful and handsome. And there are countless weight-loss pills. And when those don’t work, we can always spend hundreds of dollars going to the gym. But most people will not stick to that.

Loving ourselves through trying to improve your image is a deadly trap. Sometimes, especially with the youth, it ends up in suicide—because it is very hard to keep up with all the beautiful people we see (in the glamor magazines). It is better, for the sake of your health to just maintain a good diet and a regular, short exercise program in your home. In the end, maintaining your spiritual health and your relationship with God is far better than worrying about your figure.

6. Entertainment. I think most of us these days work hard at trying to love ourselves through our favorite TV shows, the movies we watch and rewatch on DVD, and our favorite sports. This is an area of self-love that has really accelerated in the last seventy years—since we didn’t have television before then. What did people do with their time? This era of entertainment, for the most part, is plain and simple…idolatry!

7. What Professionals are saying. Most doctors and psychologists have been saying for years that self-love, no matter what kind, is good. In fact, they are saying that it is the first step to conquering most mental ills. Now, in some ways it is good—if it is from God’s Spirit. But when they start saying that you need to accept yourself with all your lustful practices, that is when you need to go elsewhere. Sin should never be accepted or practiced in the name of loving yourself.

Lovers of Self – Part 2

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From 2 Timothy 3:2 “…For men will be lovers of self.”

Is A Love of Self Ever Good?  The answer to that question is yes. If our love for self is not a selfish kind of love, and if we use it to help us love others, then it is good. Here are eight scriptures that indicate that in some cases it is good.

Philippians 2:4. Paul teaches here, “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” This verse definitely indicates that we naturally care for ourselves. But the teaching here, with verse three, is that we must also, at the same time, care for others. In fact, we must regard others as more important than ourselves. I think Paul is saying to the Philippians, love of self will always be there, but we must push it down so that we have room to love and

care for others. We must not let our self-love be selfish or to end there. We must move on with our love to include others.

Leviticus 19:18, 34. These are the very first verses in the bible that directly tell us that we ought to love others as ourselves. And the following six scriptures that we will look at say the same thing—that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves—assuming that we do naturally (in a good way) love ourselves. Verse 34 includes the teaching that they were to see and treat other strangers among them just as they wished to be treated when they were strangers in Egypt; hence, they were to love all people just as they love themselves.

Matthew 22:39. Here is what we may call the second to the greatest commandment. Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, and He said,

” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’  38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.  39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

The thought that comes to my mind here is that these are commands from God. We are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and then also to love our neighbor. But how? Well, if God commands us to do it, I would think He would show us how, and give us the ability to do it. And really, I don’t think one is any harder than the other. He will give us the ability to love. And the love for our neighbor will come when we love ourselves.

Mark 12:31. This verse is of the same teaching as Matthew 22:39. Mark says nothing different. I will, however, add something more here. The reason why Jesus gave the scribe more than he asked for—that is, more than what the greatest commandment was—was because the second greatest commandment is tied to the first one. We can’t genuinely

love God without loving people. If we don’t love our neighbor, we won’t be loving God, because to love Him requires that we love our neighbor.

Luke 10:27-37. Here Jesus gives us the same two commandments, but with a teaching to a lawyer. The lawyer asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. When they agreed that he should follow the two greatest commandments, Jesus next asked him who his neighbor was. If he was to love his neighbor as himself, he needed to know who he was.

Well, I think you know the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the story, which of the three men proved to be a neighbor to the man who was robbed and left for dead?  It was the Samaritan who showed the man mercy. Here it is interesting that Jesus reversed the lawyer’s original question of “who is my neighbor,” to bring the idea that we are all neighbors to each other. We all have a responsibility to be a good neighbor—to care for others as we would want to be cared for, or as we would care for ourselves. And here also, we can see the idea of regarding everyone the same, with equal values, and treating everyone the same.

Romans 13:8-10. Here Paul explains that love to our neighbor (to anyone) is a fulfillment of the law. In other words, if we love others, we are fulfilling the law—we will not commit adultery with them, we will not murder them, we will not steal from them, and we will not covet anything that they have. Hence, love does no wrong to a neighbor. And the way we love them (treat them) is to think how we would want to be treated, and then we would love them just as we love ourselves.

Galatians 5:14. Here the idea is to show our love for others by showing them Chrisitan freedom in Christ; that is, we should not only love them if they keep our rules (read chapter 5); we should love them just as we love ourselves.

James 2:8. Here, much like the previous verse, we must love others without showing partiality. We are to love and care for others just as we do for ourselves.

Okay, we have pretty much outlined from scripture that we naturally do love and care for ourselves. The next thing we need to do is to discuss how we do that. Where does this good self-love come from?

We know, or we should know that all of us were born sinners. However, despite our sin nature, we all were created in God’s image. And since God always loves Himself, we discover that we do too. It is a natural God-quality that we have.

Now since God is perfect, with no flaws, His love is vastly different. In 1 John 4:8 it says that “God is love.” Love is central to His character. We could never have this kind of love, but we do have several qualities of love. For instance, we care for ourselves. We find that we are always watching out for our own danger. We instinctively want to be healthy, so we try to eat healthy foods (but we often fail in this). We set for ourselves firm boundaries when we discover things or people that are bad for us.

After we are saved, when we are made “a new creature,” (2 Cor. 5:17), our self-love will be better; that is, since we are in Christ (living for Him) we will care more for ourselves. But since we still sin, we often let ourselves go.

My next post will be on when our love of self becomes evil—or selfish.

The Rapture of the Church

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The Rapture of the church is the next great event for the Christian. Nothing needs to happen before this event, and nothing will happen before this event. Many think that the Tribulation could occur next, and some even think that we are in the Tribulation. But Scripture makes clear that before the Tribulation starts the Rapture will occur.

And for those who aren’t convinced that there even is a rapture, here are two points of evidence from the Scripture that proves it.

The Rapture of the church proved by Daniel 9:24-27.

Daniel 9:24-27

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.  25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

If you read this passage carefully you will see that there are a great many details to consider. And I have been careful to highlight these details in my book, Biblical Evidence of a Pretribulation Rapture—which I recommend to you.1  But in our study here we will narrow it down quite a bit. The idea that I want you to see here is that God has decreed (or determined) for His people (Israel) a period of time, with suffering, to bring them as a nation to repentance and salvation. We see this in verse twenty-four. The period is seventy weeks, which means seventy weeks of years or 490 years. These weeks are broken down in this passage into three parts: seven weeks (or forty-nine years), sixty-two weeks (or 434 years), and one week (the last seven years). The first forty-nine years is from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (in 445 B.C.) to the closing of the Old Testament. The next 434 years is during the intertestamental period and to the first advent of Messiah, which was fulfilled at His triumphal entry in A. D. 30. The third and last seven years is during the seven-year Tribulation; that period is the period that “the people of the prince (or the antichrist) will promise to the Jews as a time of peace (v. 27).

Now you may notice that from the end of the sixty-two-week period to the beginning of the last week, there is a huge gap of time. This is where the church has fit in. This gap so far has been about 2024 years long. And please understand that the last week (which will be the Tribulation period) cannot begin until the church age is completed. So, you see what I am getting at. When God sees that it is time to end the church age and to continue again the program for Israel, He will rapture the church to heaven. But that last seven years of Tribulation doesn’t have to begin immediately—and I don’t think it will. It will not begin until the antichrist signs a covenant of peace with the Jews for seven years (v. 27).

The Rapture of the church proved by New Testament verses. There are several New Testament verses that designate the Rapture of the church. In my study I counted thirty-one such references. Here are three that are most well-known.

John 14:1-3

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

In this passage verse three is the key rapture verse. When Jesus comes again to receive us to Himself, this is the Rapture. And when He takes us up to heaven He will give us our own dwelling place that He has been preparing for us.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

In this passage the rapture itself (our being taken up to heaven) is not mentioned, but it is implied. It will happen just as, or immediately after we are “changed” (when our bodies are transformed); and it will happen when we are yet alive. Some people suggest that though our transformation will happen instantly— “in the twinkling of an eye,” we may go up slowly so that people will see us go up; perhaps just as Jesus was seen by His disciples when He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). I don’t know if I believe that, but it is a fascinating thought.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

This passage really shows quite vividly what will happen at the rapture. Our transformation is not mentioned, but it is implied. First the dead will be transformed and taken up; then we who are alive will be transformed and taken up; and we will be “caught up together with them [with those dead who went up first] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”

You know, the more I read this passage the more I think this event will not at all be secret or unseen. People may see us go up, and they may also hear a shout and a trumpet sound. I wonder.

1 Stephen Nielsen, Biblical Evidence of a Pretribulation Rapture (published by Stephen Nielsen, http://www.stephennielsen.com, 2024), pp. 17-58.

3 Revised Prophecy Books

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I’m glad to finally get these books revised and ready for sale. I know you will be pleased with them. You owe it to yourself to be prepared for what’s ahead!

(Back Cover)

          The Rapture of the church has been one of the most controversial

          subjects in Christendom. But it need not be. This book shines a light

          on the clear, biblical evidence of the pretribulation Rapture. Its ten

          chapters are arranged in three parts.   

  • In part one important groundwork is thoroughly investigated,

paying close attention to a study of Daniel 9, and also to the

distinctive of both the church and Israel.

  • In part two we examine over seventy biblical references to

show that there are two phases to His coming: 1) the rapture of

the church and 2) His glorious appearing.

  • In part three we narrow the score of our study to show

why the Rapture must come before the Tribulation.

This book was originally published in 2017, but now it’s better and cheaper. Get it at Lulu.com for $13.46

(Back Cover)

You may suppose that this book is all about the events of the Tribulation. Not so. It is believed by many scholars that from the Rapture to the Tribulation there will be a significant period of time, anywhere between three and one-half years to as many as ten years, which will be needed to set up all the very important events of the Tribulation. This is the time period that is covered in this book.

In the first few chapters, the immediate effects of the Rapture will be laid out, along with a very interesting chapter on the different theories that will emerge as an explanation of the disappearances. Then, in the middle of the book, the author goes on to lay out how the world will be in a rush to set up a global government and a global religion. And, of course, we will talk about the Antichrist: what his involvement will be and how he will appear to the world before and during the Tribulation.

In the last two chapters the discussion will turn to heavenly events, mainly the judgment seat of Christ and the Marriage of the Lamb.

This book is basically the same with a new cover. Buy it at Lulu.com for $13.50

(back cover)

I am convinced that many writers and teachers have done immeasurable damage to the truth of The Tribulation. They have mixed it all up and filled it full of so much symbolism that any normal person would be utterly confused. In this book I have attempted to make The Tribulation more understandable; that you will clearly see its source and purpose, its devastating nature, and its clear chronology of events. I think you will also appreciate that I have looked at not only the book of Revelation, but also have brought into focus key Old Testament passages, as well as a few New Testament verses, that clearly speaks of The Tribulation.

I’m sure you have heard of “build back better” that certain world leaders are intending to enforce. Well, they will fail. But there will be a Christian build back better coming soon, and The Tribulation will be the start of it. This world will be destroyed and a new world put in its place; a world governed by Christ Himself.

This is the most recent book with a new cover. Get it at Lulu.com for $14.50.

Fears of what will be

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A while ago I blogged on the distress I go through in my self-publishing. Now I’m calling it “My fears of what will be”—my fear of possibly finding out that my book cover will not look very good, or as good as it should be. And in every project, that is my fear. But I did my best on it, so why do I fear?

As I look at some old people that are facing the end of life, I think they have the same fears (as I sometimes do). It is the fear of finding out that our eternal rewards will be small.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 34:4: “I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.” In this context, David was fearing for his life being in the camp of the Philistines; and so, he pretended to be crazy so that they would not think that he would be a problem. And it worked; they dismissed him and put him out (1 Sam. 21:10-15). Hence, God saved him. Apparently, David sought the Lord in what to do, and he thought God was telling him to pretend to be crazy (so God has a sense of humor!).

Now, as for whether we should have fears for our eternal rewards; if we do all that God leads us to do, all that we think He wants us to do, what else can we do? If we take each day at a time and obey Him, what else can we do? Remember what Paul said at the end of his life? “I have fought the good fight” (2 Tm. 4:7-8).  Hence, if you also have done your best in fighting the good fight, there is no more you can do. Ask Him to deliver you from all fears. I think it is marvelous that it says all fears. I think fear tends to multiply itself and grow in our heart if we let it. And it need not be. Read further on in Psalm 34. God is telling us to focus on the Lord and praise Him and see that He is good; and then to fear Him. Verse 9 says, “O fear the LORD, you His saints: for to those who fear Him there is no want.”

I think that if we have a healthy fear of God (to trust Him and pray about everything), He will keep us from all the bad fears, the fears we find in this evil world.

The Lord is Good

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I have been under some stress and depression lately, and have been praying for relief. I won’t give you all the details, but it has to do with my self-publishing—trying to get everything right.

Well, I believe the Lord had a hand in making me laugh through the newspaper comics today. Usually, out of the eight comics I read, one or two of them are funny. Today five of them were funny; one of them made me laugh out loud. It was the “Rhymes with Orange” strip. Anyway, these cows in the pasture had an emotional support animal with them: a chicken, a pig, a rabbit and a turtle!

Somehow I knew it was from the Lord. Who knew He would use comic strips to bring His grace to me. His ways are perfect and He knows what we need. Psalm 145: 8-9 says,

The Lord is gracious and merciful;

Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

9 The Lord is good to all,

And His mercies are over all His works.

Life is Good

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In my last post I gave you all my complaints. This morning I have been thinking and feeling how good my life is—pretty good. I really have very little to complain about. I am well fed, feeling good, healthy. I have no debts, just day to day expenses. God is good!

The sun is shining, and I know that God has been merciful to me.

I am feeling more and more like writing my next book on heaven, and I have an idea for the outline. I think at this time in my life the best thing I can do is to think every day on heaven. Maybe that is why I feel so good today—because I have been reading about it—what it will be like.

Some people say that if you are too heavenly bound you are no earthly good. But I think that if you are too earthly bound you are no earthly good; for thinking on heaven is the best way for a Christian to feel good about life. Knowing where we are headed and knowing that it will be wonderful, tends to brighten ones day on earth and give him a motivation for living a holy life.

Perfection

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Been thinking about perfection. I always try to be perfect at my job—house painting. And at my publishing—getting things just right. But at other things like house cleaning, I know I am not too perfect at. My driving could use some improvement too.

I’m going through a real tragedy right now. The title of my new book is not perfectly centered. It’s driving me up the wall. And if I want to fix it, it will take two or three weeks for the approval process to go through. Should I fix it or just leave it be imperfect? Will anybody really notice—or care? Probably not, except me. Funny, that’s the same with my painting. If I make a small mistake nobody will notice except me—unless I point it out.

Some people are so meticulous at house cleaning and at the way they look. Everything looks perfect. But those same people might not be so perfect in their thoughts—in their moral purity. For them it’s all a matter of what people see. I think this is true for me too. People will see my book covers and my paint job, but they can’t see my heart. But God sees my heart and He is very concerned about what I think. All my sins are against Him. And that is the greatest tragedy!

How will I clean up my heart, make my heart more perfect? That was the concern and the prayer David had. He knew he had sinned against God and he knew his heart was unclean. So, he prayed for a clean heart (Ps 51).

Only God can clean our heart and make us more perfect, because he is perfect. He is absolutely perfect in every way. And some day—after daily washings—we will be so clean and perfect just like Him. No worries then. All will be right. Perfect.