I’ll start telling you about my writing. My life these days is mostly about my writing. It seems like as soon as I finish one book, I am raring to go start another one. I’m writing now a book about the Tribulation. I’m liking it so far. It is blessing me to see how everything is fitting together. And it is true that those who read and study the book of Revelation will be blessed! I think that when I get about half way through I will start blogging the book—a little at a time, to let everyone see it. I’m getting to the point in my writing that not much editing, or rewriting is needed. So, I just keep moving on. I like it better that way. No need to keep trying to perfect it.
I’ve changed churches. It’s a bigger church and it is much more according to the way I believe. But I haven’t gotten too plugged in yet. I need to do that. I may want to get into a small group if I can find one. Fellowship is so important, but for some reason I find it hard connecting with people. I’m sort of an introvert. But when I make friends, I like being with them. I find that I am energized by good friends.
Well, I should go. I’m getting new tires for my truck today! And an oil change. The Lord is good.
It turns out that I’ll be waiting two hours for my truck tires. So, I’ll write a little more as I wait. It’s so beautiful to see the leaves changing color. I think God has designed it that way—that we will have some variety in what we see and experience from season to season. This time of year is especially nice in Minnesota. It will stay in the 50’s for a while—jacket weather. I actually like it better than warm weather. It’s more refreshing.
I’m running out of books to read. I usually have a few on my shelf waiting for me—so this is uncommon. I’m thinking that I will concentrate on more bible reading while I wait for Bill O’Reilly’s next book to come out. And that—bible reading—I’m sure is a good thing and will bring new blessings and rewards.
I bought these Petunias to brighten up my apartment.
My Work
Lately I’ve been staying busy, more than I want to be. For some reason I have gotten a lot of calls for jobs this year. I’m a house painter. That’s what I have been busy with. Though I am retired, I just keep working. But I’m not complaining—too much. The main complaint this year is the terrible heat. We are having a lot of 90-degree days. Too hot to paint!
My latest book, The Tribulation
I’ve written a few books on prayer, a few books on bible prophecy, and my memoir. Now I’m back to bible prophecy. I’m just getting started on this book on the Tribulation. I’m excited to know how it will turn out. I’ve done some research, but I know I will do more as I go along. I do have an outline, so I know what the content will be, but I also know that I will have some surprises—I will learn as I go. And, as is my custom, I will blog the content as I go. That will start soon.
The News
As Christians often say, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.” That has more and more been my attitude, especially since the news is so bad. I listen to the radio—probably more than I should—to get a conservative slant on things. But you know, since the Dem’s control everything, there is not much good news. And can you believe this Critical Race theory they are pushing? Terrible. And there seems to be no end to the upsurge in crime and murder. The only good news of it all is that the Rapture will be coming soon!
The 7-year Tribulation is coming soon. It is closer than we think. We must prepare for it, and Christians must warn sinners of its horrors.
So far, I’ve written three books on bible prophecy, all focused on the Rapture of the church. Now I’m excited about writing on the Tribulation, the 7-year Tribulation. Most books I’ve seen on this subject focus mainly on the judgments in Revelation: the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls; and they also go at length to try to figure out all the details of Revelation. My focus will be different. I want to pin-point my focus on what the Tribulation will be like in all of its horrors. And I will not only look at the book of Revelation, I will look at all of the bible, especially the Old Testament books. We sometimes miss those books. And sometimes we see them just as history. But they also are prophetic.
My idea is to stir people up as to what is ahead and thus to bring sinners to repentance before it is too late. I know that we as Christians will be raptured just before the Tribulation, but that does not mean that we can relax and just wait to be taken. I think we have a responsibility to warn unbelievers of what is coming. I think I will try to show how the world is leaning toward these terrible days, and that it is closer than we think. I will show the indicators of these soon coming tribulation events.
I am just now doing my research, mostly gathering Scripture from the Old Testament: from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zechariah and others. And many of those references can be cross referenced to Revelation. I’m getting a lot of help from the book Things To Come, by the late Dwight Pentecost. He has gathered a lot of material on the subject of the Tribulation. But what he has is more of an outline, and he shows many different views. My work will be more focused, and, like I said, pin-pointed toward what it will be like—the wrath of God on the earth!
I’m just starting my research, so my ideas could change along the way. Of course, I will want to show and explain the reasons, or God’s purpose for the Tribulation, and to detail as well as possible the whole doctrine of the Tribulation. As is my usual approach, it will be well organized and a teaching not just for the reader but to me. I’m sure I will get more out of it than anyone else.
This work may take a couple of years, so patience is required. Please, your prayers are very welcome and needed, that I will be persistent and patient in the work, especially in the research and study—to lay the foundation for the writing.
Almost immediately after I published Biblical Evidence of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, I began working on my next book, After the Rapture: What Happens On Earth and In Heaven After the Rapture. I am almost finished with the book. I only have a little bit of the last chapter left and the introduction—I always leave the intro until last. I am so excited to get this book published. I think it is my best writing. It flowed off my pen more than the previous books, and without much rewriting or editing. Also, it is more controversial, and allows for more guesswork. In other words, I go beyond what the Scripture gives us. I start with the Scriptures and then I make a good, educated guess at how things will play out. I put my imagination to work.
Okay, here is a rundown of the book, chapter by chapter. I begin in just three or four pages, describing what it will be like just before the Rapture. Much of it is what is going on right now: false prophets, evil, wars, famine, and lawlessness.
I outlined the book in two parts, part one is On Earth After the Rapture, in ten chapters; and part Two is In Heaven After the Rapture, in just two chapters. I begin the first chapter by describing what I think will be the immediate effects of the Rapture. I go fast and furious through this chapter, first describing automobile and airplane accidents, but I also talk about people’s fears and panic and grief and rioting. We know all about rioting, but it will be much worse than what we are experiencing now.
In chapter two I will talk about the different theories that will emerge as to why so many people have disappeared—especially in the more Christian countries like Kenya and the United States (and a few others). Of course, this is all guesswork on my part; but some ideas have already been expressed in writing. New Agers have written much on this. Here I delve into some very bizarre things such as alien abductions and parallel dimensions.
In chapter tree I discuss the probable collapses; economic, institutional, government and moral.
In chapter four through eight I write on the rise of a new global government, a new global religion, and the Antichrist. Many, I am aware, think that these things will not happen until the Tribulation period, but I argue that they will begin to happen in the period between the Rapture and the Tribulation, which is why I think that that period could be as long as ten years. It will be a very tumultuous time, seeing so much evil; yet for some, a very exciting time seeing so many changes take place all under the banner of unity (a false unity)—a world unified government and a world unified religion.
In chapter nine I talk about the Ezekiel Invasion (from Ezekiel 38-39). Many place this war during the Tribulation, but I see it happening just before the Tribulation, and I give my reasons.
Chapter ten covers the very exciting topic of the third temple. I discuss here how all the articles are already made and ready for use. I discuss the building progress but also the obstacles of the progress.
Then in chapter eleven I begin part two on what transpires in heaven after the Rapture. Here I point out that we will first face the Bema, which is when all we who have been raptured will be judged according to our works, whether good or bad.
The last chapter is on the Marriage of the Lamb, our marriage to Christ. Many will disagree with me here, but I argue that our marriage to Christ will be patterned after the typical Jewish wedding. And the reason for their disagreement is because it will set forth a biblical proof of the Rapture.
Now in a typical Jewish wedding ritual, after the groom establishes the marriage covenant with the bride, he then returns to his father’s house to prepare a place for the bride, but promises that he will soon come again to get her and take her to be with him in his father’s house.
The key biblical passage here is John 14:2-3, where Jesus tells His disciples, “I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” This passage, as you can see, follows the pattern of the Jewish wedding, and it is unmistakably, also what happens at the Rapture of the church.
Well, like I said, I am not quite finished with the book, but I will be very soon. I anticipate it to be published maybe by Christmas, 2020.
As soon as I had all my topics decided on, the next step in the process of writing my book Prayer A to Z was easy. I just took one topic (a chapter) at a time, did whatever reading and bible study I thought was sufficient for that topic, and went from there. I always highlighted important material as I read, took some notes, and then made an outline.
At first my idea was to make the chapters short—about two typed pages. I was still using the material as an insert in the church bulletin, so I didn’t want it to be too long. Eventually, after about the first ten chapters, I changed my mind about the length. I could see that there was much more I could write on each topic. So, I made a big decision to go back and re-write all that I did before moving on. Now, instead of each chapter taking only a couple days to write, it took sometimes a couple weeks—or more. But it was what I wanted and it looked better. More importantly, I was sure that it was what God wanted; and more and more I regarded the entire project as His.
I remember so clearly those early days of the writing. I didn’t have a computer yet, so I just used my typewriter, and then I managed to persuade the church secretary to go over it (retype it) using her computer. She didn’t seem to mind, and at the time, it was for the church. After a few years though she was no longer the secretary and I decided I needed to get a computer. What a difference that made.
Most writers spend hours at a time writing. Not me. I had a full-time painting business with employees, and I had to be to work by at least 8 A.M. So, I chose to write early before I went off to work, and for only about 20 minutes at the most. I would usually do my bible reading and prayer first, and then tag on the writing. It worked well that way; and since I rarely missed my morning devotions, I hardly ever missed my writing time. It became my regular morning ritual—or an extension of my devotional time. And though some days it was hard to get into, after each writing session I felt a sense of peace and accomplishment. And it helped to set a good tone for the work day.
I kept that same ritual for as long as it took me to write my first book (20 years), and even a few years after that. Now however, since I am semi-retired, things are a little different. I still have my quiet time in the morning, but I prefer to do my writing at a separate time. For my more technical writing, it is always easier to be near my computer, because I do so much of the research on the computer. But for the writing I am doing at this present time, which is my own story, I find it easier for me to go to a restraint and write while drinking my coffee. I also—as I am doing at this very moment—like to sit in my truck under the shade of a tree, with a coffee or water. I found a place at a park and ride location where there are several shade trees, and I hear the noise of the highway just 50 yards away. Some may regard that nose as annoying, but I’ve gotten used to it and is even kind of soothing—a good noise for writing.
At my desk. I generally always write everything out long hand first.
My writing adventure began about 1992, while I was attending Majestic Oaks Community Church. At the beginning, I was immersing myself in many books on prayer for the purpose of prayer ministry for the church. And I was content to read just the books I had on my shelves which I had collected over the years. Later, when I was thinking about the possibility of writing a book on prayer and when I was trying to put an outline together, I found that I had to look elsewhere for more books. The place that I looked most was at the Bethel Seminary library. I wasn’t a student there, but when I told them that I needed books for a book I was writing, they agreed to get me a library card.
I remember so well when the idea came to me about writing a book. I had recently moved into a place as a renter, and I remember lazily laying on my bed day dreaming of future possibilities of a book. I admit that my first thought was that maybe I could actually make some money on a book. But then, I also thought of just using a book to bring a good teaching to people on prayer. I concluded that I could kill two birds with one stone. Why not. So, I committed it to prayer and immediately began forming an outline. From the start of my reading on prayer, I had the desire to look at prayer from every possible angle, and to read especially from all the prayer experts and great scholars. So, I continued to go with that idea in developing my outline.
First, I scanned through all the books I had and jotted down all the possible prayer topics I could write on. I came up with over 70 topics. Too many. Then I had a great idea. If I could put them all in alphabetical order, I could entitle the book, Prayer A to Z. That would give me only 26 topics, but I could always have more than one topic under the same letter. Eventually, I managed to get all my topics in alphabetical order and also narrow the count down to just over 50. Then I got another idea. If I could come up with exactly 52 topics (chapters), that would give me a great year-long study of prayer, studying one chapter a week. I settled on that idea. It was all set. Now, all I needed to do was put it together—write the book.
I have heard from more than one Christian publishing company that authors should never brag about how their book was designed by God. And I can see their point. But just between you and me, I definitely got the impression in seeing how my book came together so easily, that God had a part in it. Yes, I do feel that God wanted me to write the book and that He definitely helped me put it together.
This is my first book, Prayer A to Z. It was published in 2013.
During the first few years of my painting business, from 1981 to 1985, I lived in two different places. The first was in an apartment in south Minneapolis. The thing I remember about that place was that I got some of the cost of my rent taken off for doing some badly needed painting in a few apartments. I remember that I never felt pressured to finish a job—since I had an understanding with the landlord that I could only work a couple hours a week, because I was already working my painting business. I don’t know why I got such a kick out of it and felt so empowered to just walk away from a job half-way finished and to tell the people, “I’ll be back next Wednesday to finish up.” I would never do that today. But, part of me wishes that I could be more carefree as I was then, and not worry about finishing a job when the client wants it to be done. At the time of this writing I am semi-retired and I’m trying to be more like that—more carefree. I do try not to work such long hours and maybe take a few days off.
After a couple years I moved to a different apartment in northeast Minneapolis, What I remember most about that place is that it was located right across from Zurbey’s bar, and quite often they would play loud polka music all night long; and they would always leave the front door wide open so the whole neighborhood could hear it. It was obnoxious, and it would keep me up when I was trying to sleep.
Another thing I remember about living there is that it was when I decided that I would get serious about writing. So, I began setting aside at least an hour a day just to write—a book. Yes, I had a topic and a book title—but I can’t remember what it was. Sadly, after a few years I got frustrated with it and tore the whole thing up. Looking back on it now, I know I did the right thing. If you are gong to write a book it really should be inspired by God, not just something you think could sell or make you some money—which was the case for that attempt. In a few years down the road, in 1993, I was inspired to write a book, and I never was frustrated with it. I’ll write more about that in a future blog.
From 1981 to 1985 was also the period when I was dating. Most people, I suppose, start dating quite early, from age 16 and continue until they are married. Not me. In high school there was a couple girls I liked, but I didn’t date them. Then after high school I went right into the Marines—no dating there. Then I was in the Navigators from 1971 to 1975, and they are notorious for not dating. In fact, they would keep the men’s ministry entirely separate from the women’s ministry. I hardly ever saw a girl. Then I went to Northwestern college and Western Seminary, and I was so dedicated to my studies that I hardly ever looked up from my books. So, after Western Seminary, in 1981, is the first real chance I had to start dating. I mean, I had nothing else to think about except my work—painting, and I didn’t really have to think about that too much.
I guess you could say, I was getting a late start at dating. I was already 30 years old. Good grief! Oh well. Better late than never. I really didn’t date a lot. There were actually only three girls that I can think of that I dated off and on. Elise was the main one. I was really crazy about her. Well, actually, she drove me crazy—because she couldn’t commit to me. Finally, I decided to break it off with her. I couldn’t handle it any more. Then in 1985 I met the girl I ended up marrying. I’ll talk more about that later.
When I began thinking of what I wanted the book to be like, my thoughts were drawn to some of the classic books on prayer I have read, books by E. M. Bounds, Andrew Murray, Hudson Taylor, R. A. Torrey, and Charles Spurgeon. I considered these authors to be powerful and holy men of God, and so I wanted to follow in their steps.
What would I do? How would I form its content? The first thing I did was to look through all the books I had (about 30 book) to get ideas. I wrote down all the possible topics or chapter titles. I came up with about 80 topics; and I also decided that I would take some time to read through the bible to find all the prayers of the bible. It took me over a year; and during that time, I also worked on the formation of the chapters. Eighty chapters was way too many. I eventually narrowed it down to 52 chapters, including five chapters on the prayers of the bible.
Then I had a brilliant idea. If a person would read and study one chapter a week, that would make a good year-long study. I also got the idea of trying to put all the chapters in alphabetical order. That took some doing, but it came together. Well, after I was done patting myself on the back for my brilliance, I suddenly got the thought that maybe God had something to do with it. And the more I realized how everything came together, I was sure of it. It was all His doing!
Okay, here are the fifty-two chapters, with just a short comment on each chapter.
Answers to Prayer. Seventeen pages on this topic. A great start.
Aroma of Prayer. This is a favorite to many readers.
Authority of Prayer. All our authority is in Christ.
Burden in Prayer. In this chapter you realize God’s heart of compassion.
Confidence in Prayer. Discover God-confidence in prayer.
Definition of Prayer. Discover here what prayer is.
Desire in Prayer. It is important to pray with desire.
Earnestness in Prayer. Earnest prayer grows out of desire.
Evangelism in Prayer. How to pray for the lost.
Failure in Prayer. Why we fail in prayer.
Faith and Prayer. Why faith is necessary in prayer.
Fasting and Prayer. Instruction and guidelines for Fasting.
Forgiveness and Prayer. Why forgiveness is so necessary for prayer.
God’s Idea. Prayer is God’s idea.
Holiness and Prayer. Holiness always goes with prayer.
Holy Spirit and Prayer. Prayer and the Holy Spirit work together.
How to Pray – Part 1. Eight of Jesus’ Teachings on Prayer.
How to Pray – Part 2. A study of the Lord’s Prayer.
Importunity in Prayer. Persistent and urgent prayer.
Intercession – Part 1. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit’s Intercession.
Intercession – Part 2. The definition of intercession.
Intercession – Part 3. How we intercede for others.
Jesus’ Name. Prayer in Jesus’ name.
Kneeling in Prayer. Prayer posture.
Length of Prayer. How long should we pray for.
Ministry of Prayer. Practical help on how to have a prayer ministry.
Necessity of Prayer. Nine reasons why prayer is necessary.
Obedience and Prayer. Being obedient to God is so necessary in prayer.
Possibilities of Prayer. Praying for big things.
Power in Prayer. How to have power in your prayers.
Praise and Prayer – Part 1. Praise as a vital part of prayer.
Praise and Prayer – Part 2. Biblical examples of praise.
Prayerlessness. The sin of prayerlessness.
Quietness in Prayer – Part 1. Hearing God’s voice.
Quietness in Prayer – Part 2. Our quiet time with God.
Quietness in Prayer – Part 3. The importance of solitude.
Quietness in Prayer – Part 4. How the Devil perverts our prayers.
Revival and Prayer. What part prayer has in revival.
Specific Praying. How to pray specifically.
Survey of Prayer – Part 1. Prayers of the Bible, Abraham through Moses.
Survey of Prayer – Part 2. Prayers of the Bible, Joshua through Samuel.
Survey of Prayer – Part 3. Prayers of the Bible, David through Jehoshaphat.
Survey of Prayer – Part 4. Prayers of the Bible, Elijah through Daniel.
Survey of Prayer – Part 5. Prayers of the Bible, Ezra through John.
Travail in Prayer. Why we need to travail in prayer.
United Prayer. Praying together in agreement.
Vigilance in Prayer – Part 1. Why vigilance is necessary.
Vigilance in Prayer – Part 2. Overcoming the enemy through vigilance.
Word and Prayer. The use of the word in Prayer.
Xanadu. Experiencing the beauty of prayer.
Yielding in Prayer. Why we must yield to God when we pray.
Zenith of Prayer. This last chapter of 93 pages summarizes the entire book.
Stephen Nielsen 