Most of the Minnesota wildflowers have faded away, but there are a few little ones still, and an abundance of yellow sunflowers.
Late Summer Photos
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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.
Bunny, Deer, and Flowers
This little bunny was fearless; he wasn’t old enough to be afraid.
This one looked at me for a long time.
At first I didn’t like these droopy looking flowers; but I have grown the like them. So beautiful.
I love how these sun flowers always face toward the sun.
How Praise Helps me in Spiritual warfare
The Marriage of the Lamb
In this article we are interested in the marriage between Christ (the Lamb) and the church, which takes place in heaven after the bema seat. And since this marriage is patterned after a typical ancient Jewish wedding, we will present it as such. First we will show all the events of a typical Jewish wedding; then we will describe those same events in theological terms showing our marriage with Christ the Lamb.
The marriage of a typical Jewish wedding. It all begins by an arrangement of a betrothal period and payment of the wedding by the father of the groom. When these arrangements are made and the price is paid, the marriage covenant is established and is binding.
After the marriage covenant is made the groom returns to the father’s house. During this time of separation, the groom is busy preparing a place for his betrothed, and she is also preparing herself for him.
After a period of time known only by the groom and his father, the groom comes unexpectantly to get his bride. But he will warn her with a shout, something like, “Behold the bridegroom comes!”
Within four days of the wedding, the bride and sometimes the groom will undergo a ritual bath called the mikuah—which is for both outer and inner cleansing.
Each Jewish wedding ceremony has been different, but the most basic practice has been the exchange of rings symbolizing purity and honesty in the relationship.
After the wedding ceremony the happy couple retires to the bridal chamber to consummate the wedding. Shortly after there will be a big celebration of the couple’s first union.
The last event is the marriage feast, which usually lasts for an entire week.
Our marriage with Christ the Lamb. Just as with a Jewish betrothal period, our marriage with Christ begins with His Father loving us and paying the price of His own Son’s death. If we chose to believe in Him we enter into an eternal marriage covenant with Him.
After Christ died on the cross for our sins, He left this earth and is now preparing a place for us in heaven (Jn. 14:23). And we, His betrothed should be preparing ourselves for Him.
Just as the groom comes unexpectantly to get the bride in the Jewish wedding, Jesus will come from heaven to get us and bring us to His Father’s house in heaven. He will resurrect the dead believers first, and then rapture the living ones (Jn. 14:2-3; 1 Thess. 4:17).
The next event after we arrive in heaven is the cleansing. In the Jewish wedding the cleansing was by a ritual bath, but in our marriage to Christ it will be a cleansing by fire—the bema judgment, where all our hidden motives will be revealed (1 Cor. 4:4-5).
Both the wedding ceremony and the consummation of the marriage will be very private and sacred. Since our bodies will be transformed, our relationship and communion with Him will be very different—very good but very different.
The marriage feast in a Jewish wedding was for one week. But our marriage with Christ will last for one-thousand years, all during the millennial kingdom—after which the new bride (the church) and groom (Jesus) will enjoy each other in heavenly bliss forever.
Our Use of Praise
The Bema Judgment
The bema judgment, or as it is sometimes called, the judgment seat of Christ will probably occur just after the Rapture and our transformation. And I am guessing that it will be one of those timeless events. That is, things that happen in a few days or even a few years in our time will take only a second in God’s time. Really, since Christ will be the only judge, and since He will have to judge every Christian for all of their works, in our time this could take over a thousand years. But since God is God and He will not be restricted by time, it will take only a second—or less.
Now this bema judgment (bema, indicating an elevated judgment platform) will happen somewhere in heaven—we don’t know where. And the subjects of the judgment are the church—those who will be raptured. All others who are not of the church will, I suppose, be judged at another time and place. And, as I said, Christ is our judge.
As for the basis of this judgment; it will not be according to our sins, for they have already been paid for on the cross, and His blood has already cleansed us of all sins (1 Jn. 1:7). Praise God for that! But we will be judged according to our deeds, whether they are good or bad. Our bad deeds will have no value for His kingdom, so we will get no reward for those. But our good deeds, whatever value they have for His kingdom, we will be rewarded on that basis (read 1Cor. 3:10-15).
Now, as for what reward we will get, that is hard to say. God has not revealed that specifically. Certainly, He will judge us according to our motives and our attitude toward Him and toward others. And we know that He is a perfect judge and He knows our heart. There has been much said in Scripture about crowns that we will get as rewards. There has also been things said about rewards of land, rulership, and of responsibilities. But I think the best reward we will want to receive is to hear Jesus say to us, “Well done My good and faithful servant.” Also, in the end of things, whatever glory we receive from Him, we will so much desire to reflect that glory back to Him—that all things will be to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:12).
Stephen Nielsen 