We know by the Bible, certain things must happen before Jesus returns for the elect of God.
* There will be wars and rumors of wars and famines, pestilences, and earthquakes.
Matthew 24:6-9 Jesus says: And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
WWII was the worst war in the history of civilization according to Winston Churchill in his book The Gathering Storm. (Chapter 1)
So far as pestilences, we've never seen anything like Coronavirus of 2020. There have been many pestilences in times past, but never before a pestilence that covered the entire world.
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* According to the apostle Paul, before Jesus returns there has to be a "falling away" where churches depart from some scriptures and antichrist moves into the church groups and the apostasy comes into the churches.
2 Thessalonians 2
3-4 KJV ... Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (of the Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
In 1982, God said to me: "The falling away are not people leaving the churches but the falling away are the church leaving the scriptures."
In NASB the "falling away" is called "the apostasy". V.3 No one is to deceive you in any way! For it (the day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
The apostasy had to come into the churches before Jesus could return for the elect of God.
6-8 NASB 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only HE who now restrains will do so until HE is removed. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of HIS mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of HIS coming;
In 2015, God called to my mind the word "restrains": I found this in the above scripture of NASB.
I asked God, "What is it that restrains antichrist?"
Instantly I heard, " Jesus, The Word, keeps antichrist out of the churches."
And my understanding was opened by God. "When churches remove portions of scriptures or change scriptures, they remove Jesus (The Word) from the church and antichrist enters ... for only the scriptures, The Word which is Jesus, can keep antichrist out of the churches."
And I knew this is what I had been seeing in churches for the past 40 years when pastors changed scriptures and were not ashamed of that which they had done when I talked with them about this.
Some even admitted to me that the thing they had just taught was not in the Bible and they had just made it up. But there was no shame.
In the end, in Revelation, we read even when the plagues were sent by God, they would not repent but they cursed God because of those plagues.
Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give HIM glory.
And then I understood what I had been seeing pastors do from the time I was born again in 1975, in the first church I went to after being born again.
(That pastor was teaching tongues were of the devil ... while in the Bible Paul said, "forbid not to speak with tongues.") I Cor. 14:39
The apostasy was already taking place in the churches in 1975, and even centuries before as denominations broke away from the Holy Bible and set up their own groups eliminating scriptures as they chose to do and installing religious symbols not prescribed by Bible.
This had to happen before Jesus could return for the elect, according to the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
And the breaking away from Bible grew worse and worse as the time continued through the centuries.
2 Timothy 3 Paul says: 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come ... 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away ... 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth ... 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
To the end of this earth, church denominations will continue setting up their own doctrines and departing from portions of scripture in the Holy Bible and will grow worse and worse.
Jesus will destroy the apostate church groups when HE returns to gather HIS elect.
II Thessalonians 2:8-10 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of HIS mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of HIS coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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* Another thing that had to happen before Jesus could return for the elect is the gospel had to be taught through all the world.
Matthew 24:14 Jesus says: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
I believe we have seen this by Internet as well as by individuals who have spoken the gospel to all nations.
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The great tribulation of God comes:
Jesus says:
Matthew 24:29-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And HE shall send HIS angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together HIS elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And HE shall send HIS angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together HIS elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
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When we are taken into heaven to meet Jesus:
2 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede/go before) them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede/go before) them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
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The apostle Peter tells us what we should do as we wait for the return of Jesus:
2 Peter 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of HIM in peace, without spot, and blameless.
We keep ourselves in peace, without spot and blameless while we wait for the return of Jesus.
We must not allow ourselves to be troubled by the apostate churches nor by the evil of those in this present world. For that will consume us.
We must avoid those people and things that steal peace and cause us to depart from peace and joy of the Word of God.
And we must not join them in the evil by rejecting the scriptures which would allow antichrist into our own selves.
Matthew 24:12-13 Jesus says: And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
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