I finally heard a Pastor take a bold stance and say, I am 100% going to declare the day; and so am I.

 I recently heard a group of pastors who were doing a video round-table and one of them, in the process of introducing himself, decided to push the religious envelope by saying, I am 100% going to declare the day. He went on to say that the motivation for his strong belief is based upon the preponderance of evidence, confirmations, and validations of a prophetic word. This pastor is convinced beyond measure that Jesus is coming to retrieve His bride during the Feast of Trumpets. He also holds fast to the prophetic word of Brother Joshua. (Although Brother Joshua does not claim his word to be prophetic. The word Brother Joshua finally made public, fits every description of a prophetic word. The word given tells us that Jesus spoke this word and specifically declared September 23, 2025 was to be the day.) Keep in mind that the Feast of Trumpets is a 48 hour window of opportunity that starts at sundown on Tuesday evening, September 22, around six pm, and lasts until six pm on September 24. If I were to think like a Jew, then I know that September 23 initiates at sundown on the 22^nd and ends at sundown on the 23^rd. Just something to think about.

The Pastor began going through passages that gave him the faith and freedom to corroborate the day of the Lord's return.

“...not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

(Hebrews 10:25 NASB)

Pay attention to these words, “but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Encouraging?

Why that has everything to do with hope. Hope is expectation, anticipation, and the leaning of everything we have upon a promise.

How do we encourage?

If you look up the synonyms for encourage you will get a few options, such as: promote, boost, support, inspire, stimulate, enliven, and even animate. Why It almost sounds like a cheerleader and that may be true, but it is difficult to cheer others on if you have had the inspiration beaten out of you.

While I have to admit that the day, is also a variable, there is the implication that we can know the day. If you wish to struggle with the idea of us knowing when, then consider the 50 prophets that followed Elijah.

“Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.”

(2 Kings 2:5 BSB)

Chew on that for a while, for the sons of the prophets knew it was to be that day.

Another passage comes Revelation 3:3

“Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.”

(Revelation 3:3 BSB)

Perhaps we can deem this to be an idiom, but never forget that there is NOTHING in scripture that is there by accident. He means for us to understanding that we can pinpoint this moment in time down to the hour.

“Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you. For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Thessalonians 5:1-9 BSB)

1. “Now, about the times and seasons ...”

   It is clear to me that we are to understand the times and the seasons. As followers of Christ, we are to expect violence coming at us. Jesus warned us that because they hated Me, they will hate you. So what happened to Brother Charlie Kirk, is NOT uncommon, especially in the African nations. Guess what, this level of common violence is coming to America, sooner than you think. The times and the seasons in which Jesus will come back are upon us.

2. “ While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, ...”

   They, being the nations against Israel, have already gathered to voice their opinions about the New York document, a document that will be ratified on September 23, 2025, and then it may only have one dissenting vote, although I am hoping the President Trump votes against it, making it two who are standing against this Peace and Security agreement that is being co-chaired by French President, Emmanuel Macron and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salmon.

   The question is: the destruction that is coming, will it be upon the signers, or, upon Israel.

3. “... and they will not escape.”

   Does it matter to whom Jesus is speaking?

   Not really, because as I write this Israel is fighting a war on seven fronts. Any action, no matter who fires first, will be met with overwhelming firepower. I might add that Israel is progressively leveling Gaza as we speak. This action, has motivated Germany, one of the last allies Israel had, to turn their backs on Israel and voice their approval of this two state solution.

   Do not think for a second that the Islamic nations care one bit about Israel or this UN agreement, which will be signed on September 23, because those nations want Israel thrown into the sea.

4. “But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”

   In general, this statement is trying to bolster your faith and understanding, that you can understand and comprehend what God is about to do. He is about to say, Son, go get your bride.

   The naysayers loudly and incessantly rave, No man knows the day or the hour! And yet, look at the world around you. Everywhere you turn you can hear the sounds of the toilet being flushed. Nations, such as France, are burning; this is a nation where 1 in 4 women are being raped by Islamic Jihadists. There is hardly a nation where the situation is turning deadly. If you don't believe that, ask Charlie Kirk; oh yeah, you can't because he got assassinated. The hour is upon us.

5. “putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.”

   We are not to turn to rage but to live in the hope of salvation. If you have confessed that Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life then you are a believer, a follower of Christ. You no longer have time to play with the world. Separate yourself from their ways and turn quickly to Jesus.

   Why would the Apostle Paul say that salvation brings hope if it was not meant to tell us that our hope is in the rescue of the church from the horrendous things that are about to be unleashed with the signing of this peace and security agreement?

   If you are a chronologically oriented person, and know a bit of Daniel 9 and beyond, then you also know that most do not see our rescue until the antichrist adds his approval and support for Peace and Security agreement. Seriously, God is going accomplish what He desires and He desires His bride.

6. “For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

   We have hope because of this statement right here.

Because of scripture, many of us were looking for heavenly signs, well, we got them.

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.”
(Revelation 12:1-2 BSB)

These signs were in the night sky somewhere around 2017. You could NOT see them from where I live as light pollution obliterates all but a couple of the brightest stars. Many people used an app called Stellarium to do their studying. I merely took their word for it; the problem was that so many of the events that we now see, were not happening then.

Oh, I might add that wise men, during the days of Jesus' birth, based upon their knowledge of the stars, came and paid homage to the young child Jesus. 

Allow me to burst your bubble.

“When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
(Matthew 2:16 BSB)

Jesus, was now at least two, and was NOT living in a manger by the time the wise men (and their rather large entourage arrived. Joseph and Mary were in at least a rented home, I assume. The Magi brought them great wealth and I would not be surprised if that funded the entirety of their stay in Egypt.

In regards to the escalating level of violence, which we just witnessed.

“They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” (John 16:2 BSB)

 Consider what John 16:4 has to say.  

 “But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.”  (John 16:4 BSB)

 We will always be with the Lord.

 "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, 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 will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 BSB)

 

Since imperfection (sin) cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, we must shed this earthly body.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 BSB)

 Since Adam we have all been infested with sin. How to define that is part of the mystery, but it is not that difficult. That piece of fruit that the two of them ingested changed their DNA. There was time when such a concept was fodder for science fiction movies. Well, Bill Gates and others like him, paid the right people and they found a way in an Mrna injection. We will not go into details, but I will tell you that one of my brothers died thanks to this manipulation of science. So we have to shed the carrier of that sin; you got it, the body. In the twinkling of an eye we will shed this damaged body in exchange for a new one. It will look just like you. Consider Jesus, He came back from the grave, sat on the beach one day and cooked and ate fish with the disciples. Sounds rather physical, but not worth the time to try and explain it now. We will be changed and sin free, something that was attached to this old body and linked back to the garden. 

I can hardly wait.

One other thing, prophecy, to the Jew, is a pattern.

Nothing was to be judged on the basis of one witness, which also applied to the prophetic.

"On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.” (Deuteronomy 17:6 NASB)

When someone operating in the role of a prophet declares something, all we can do is hold it in the back of our minds. Of course, all changes if the impact should be immediately seen. Later on, another prophecy comes and validates not only the first prophet but the word itself. (There are parameters upon which to judge a prophecy, the biggest is – it is trying to lead us away from God to serve other gods.) The Jewish mind understood all of this. They are not impressed with the waving of hands and fancy words, and the Apostle John knew this as well. That is why in almost every case (some are harder to find than others), these are words that have been spoken over the Jews on a previous occasion.

Focusing on Revelation 13:11-18.

“Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” (Revelation 13:11-18 ESV)

• Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth.

Since our first beast rose out of the sea, and we know that the sea represents people, we can learn that the first beast comes out of an environment that is more widespread. This second beast, rising out of the earth, demonstrates that he is from a more localized area, but where?

The easy answer as to where this localized area is is Israel.

• It had two horns like a lamb. 

  

If you are not a farmer, then you may not know that sheep have horns, but for economic reasons, they cut them off. At the time of this writing, we had recently gone to the local county fair. (It is hard to believe that the area I live in was once orange groves and farmers.) That particular year they had several sheep with horns, and the horns were massive.

To the Jewish attendees in the early church, their perception that this meant deception was immediate. 

The fact that it is like a lamb establishes that it is representing itself, to some degree, as Jesus did, at first gentle and caring, but then at the three-and-a-half-year mark of the seven-year period – watch out.

If we were Jewish converts, what would be our immediate association when John introduces an image of a lamb?

Perhaps Genesis 22:8, where Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb ..” The idea of the slain lamb as a way of removing sin was scattered throughout the Torah and a common practice for the Jews. However, the impact of the slain lamb – in tradition – was a good thing, and we already recognize that there is a horrendous deception coming. We all also have the imagery, seen earlier in Revelation, of the lamb as though it had been slain, and that was Jesus, the Messiah, standing there.

Revelation 5:6 ESV And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

This may not be hitting you in the same manner, it is impacting me, but if the Jewish religious council, with their eyes closed, as they are today, get pulled into this deception, they will pull many into the deceit along with them. Think of this scenario as a sinkhole.

Faith without works is dead. James 2:14-26.

James 2: 14 through 26.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

My friends, what good is it to say you have faith when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? James 2:14 CEV 

My son in law will occasionally say, I am a Christian, but try talking to him about His relationship with the Father, and he will tell you that his relationship is private. I suppose, on an intimate and personal level, I can understand that, but then there is that admonition from Jesus.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NLT)

What does that say about your private and personal relationship?

Perhaps a lot, but who am I to talk, as I was a shy introvert most of my life. It was only the power of the Holy Spirit that changed me and gave me a boldness that I simply do not understand at times. I find myself scratching my head, and asking who was that guy because that was never who I was?

The NLT version of the Bible reads like this:

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?”

Let's examine this idea of faith for a moment.

Is it only a demonstrative faith that brings about your salvation?

Well, that was not the case for the thief on the cross. Pay attention to the conversational interaction between Jesus and that particular thief.

Luke 23:32-43 NLT

(32)  Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him......

(39)  One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

This is the first thing we have heard out of the other two. If they are of the same mindset, then it should not go well for them, but watch what happens.

(40)  But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?

The “other” criminal protested, by saying, don't you fear God? Now, where did he get that understanding from?

The thief's addendum, “even when you have been sentenced to die”, alludes to the idea that he has an understanding that there is a God to fear.
Assume a couple of scenarios:
1. They don't know God. If that is the case, how would anyone perceive or recognize that there was a relationship between this man in the middle of them and God?
That is a great question, and the only thing that would change this equation is that the one doing the protesting is a Jew. (Another assumption we make, is that the Jews are so constrained by the laws of God that they would never do anything wrong; this is, an illogical assumption, for we are ALL broken by sins effects.) We might make an assumption that the thief saw the traditional garment worn by all Jews, the one with the blue tassels, but that would not have happened as Jesus was stripped of His garments, beaten to look like hamburger, and a purple robe was draped over him. The Roman soldiers did gamble over a piece of clothing he had been wearing. But this could have been thought of as a common undergarment.
2. We can make the assumption that the protesting thief had seen and heard some of what Jesus said and did, but then, what do we know about Jesus that might best respond to that assumption? He went about doing good and healing all who were oppresses of the devil, and that should be enough to change any life.

(41)  We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”

At this point, what has this thief done that demonstrates faith?
He acknowledged that Jesus was God, and then makes the most remarkable assertion, “this man has done nothing wrong!”
Is it possible, that he said this by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because in saying that, hasn't this thief just openly declared that Jesus is God's perfect son? 

(42)  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

Here is another piece of acknowledgment, that would only come out of traditional Jewish training – that there is a kingdom that is expected and it is coming.

(43)  And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

In response to those three things, in which Jesus saw faith in the man, this man was guaranteed an eternal place with Jesus in paradise.

If I base my comprehension of what faith looks like upon the thief on the cross, then salvation is rather simple and non-dramatic, and yet, even if it is too simple, there are components within the man's declarations that are earth-shaking; and, if you were honest, you would probably have to admit that you know very people few people with that kind of depth or understanding of God.

Now remember that James is writing to Jewish converts, so don't let your Gentile mindset creep in here, as these people held tightly to traditions, the Holydays, and the law of God, just as James did.

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works?”(NASB)

Works is the Greek word ergon, and means that which one undertakes to do.

Since we have only been given one job - to be His witnesses, telling people about Him, what is He expecting us to do?

Simply that, tell people about Him. For those that struggle with this whole concept of demonstrably showing Jesus to others, James offers these words.

James 2:15-16 NASB If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, (16) and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

Once again, the mindset of James, as he seems to keep it in the family.

If we ignore the Jewishness of James for a moment, what can we see here?

Helping people in need:

• “ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,”

Where else do we find some substantiation for feeding and clothing the needy?

In Matthew 25; there, Jesus, as the final judge, brings all the dead before Him; separates them into two groups, the sheep and the goats; and then, extends His invitation to the sheep to enter “the kingdom prepared for you.” Well, of course, these are shocked because they did all the religious things, we the pious, expect to see. But what was Jesus looking for?

For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. (Matthew 25:35-36 MKJV)

They saw the hungry and those without clothing.

What if these ignored what they saw?

Then they would hear some ugly words, like what we see when He addresses the crowd referred to as the goats.

Then He also shall say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; (Matthew 25:41-42 MKJV)

So what are we seeing so far?

Faith demands some action. For some it's words; for others it is actions; perhaps doing both is good.

I love how the Contemporary English Version conveys this next verse.

James 2:17 CEV  Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!

Many of you can see a pattern here, as some, it seems, are working and gaining God's favor, while others have faith. The standard assertion: Isn't faith a mandatory method of gaining entrance into the kingdom of God?

Well, that is certainly what I was told, but then I saw these passages in Matthew 25 and they made me start rethinking what I had been taught. Paul, in writing to Philemon, said,

And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. (Philemon 1:6 NLT)

So, there can be a generous action generated by faith. However, Paul also makes this statement:

We are Jews by birth and are not sinners like Gentiles. But we know that God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith. (Galatians 2:15-16 CEV)

If I skimp on my reading and merely glance at the passage, I might only see, “God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ.”

Now that is a true statement; but, it does not explain, for me anyway, Matthew 25 and the sheep; and, it seems a little short-sighted – let me explain. The passage continues to explain, “No one can please God simply obeying the Law.” Paul was writing to Jews just as James did, so he has to deal with some deep-seated teachings and traditions, one of which conveyed that keeping the law (and making a sacrifice) was the path to righteousness. Jesus, however, became our righteousness; having learned that, I put it into action and accepted Jesus as my salvation, and therefore, my righteousness.

I am so glad that the sentence continues to say,

“ So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith.”

Paul, more than any of the others, would have been considered the expert among this lot, therefore we see what I, the Gentile, see as brutal, “We are Jews by birth and are not sinners like Gentiles.” I suppose this is where my grace kicks in because I know NONE of them to have an exclusive any more than I have with the Father – Thank you, Jesus, for that.

The Complete Jewish Bible reads:

Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead. (James 2:17 CJB)

I put actions to my faith and gained His righteousness, and therefore a promised home in His kingdom.

This next verse reminds me so much of the world right now.

James 2:18 CJB  But someone will say that you have faith and I have actions. Show me this faith of yours without the actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions!

Eugene Peterson makes this so clear.

I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. (James 2:18 MSG)

If you take away one thing from this passage it should be this:

“Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.”

You can't have one without the other. After a speech like this, you would think that much of this argument would be obvious; I guess not, for James has to throw in the concept of one God.

James 2:19 CJB  You believe that "God is one"? Good for you! The demons believe it too—the thought makes them shudder with fear!

As you can see above, the Complete Jewish Bible comes across rather sarcastically, maybe the CJB reflects what many of us pick up on, that the Jews tend to be blunt. The Moffatt translation conveys this a bit differently.

You believe in one God? Well and good. So do the devils, and they shudder. (James 2:19 Moffatt NT)

Perhaps this too could be perceived as sarcastic, as what follows comes across harshly.

The demons believe it too—the thought makes them shudder with fear!

Stop for a minute and ask yourself, what did he just say?

• That there is only one God.
• The other thing that James gives acceptance to, is the fact that there are fallen angels/demons ever-present and battling about us in the spiritual realm.

Moving on.

James 2:20 NET. But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Don't be this person. May of 2020, the year of infamy and quite probably the Lord's return, we remembered that the Thunderbird aerial demonstration team would possibly be flying nearby. Calling to the children to come outside quickly, one of them responds back with, “why!” To which, I responded, in your case, you can just stay in the house. Go back to whatever you were doing. Where is our sense of adventure?

While the Bible is filled with acts of faith combined with works, James only focuses on two.

Abraham

James 2:21-24 NLT  Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  (22)  You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.  (23)  And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.  (24)  So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

In Genesis 15 God spoke to Abram in a vision. A vision happens when you are awake and it is very much like watching a movie about your life or someone else's. In this vision, God spelled what He would do with and to Abram, and in Genesis 15:6, it tells us, that based upon what Abram saw, that:

“.. Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.” (Genesis 15:6 NLT)

So God spoke words unto Abram's life, and Abram believed it, accepted what God had to say, and therefore demonstrated faith. This belief was counted as righteousness.

Righteous, according to Webster's dictionary = Just; accordant to the divine law. Applied to persons, it denotes one who is holy in heart.

What we saw in Abram's life were faith and actions. James refers to Abram, now called Abraham, and his offering of Isaac on the altar, as being the thing that brought about God's righteousness, but obviously it was much earlier than that, and the works that James speaks of, were not so evident that day when God showed him the vision.

Our other reference is Rahab.

James 2:25 NIV  In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

I will tell you straight that I hate this because it demeans her when it calls her a harlot/prostitute, but when I look up the words, in both the Hebrew and the Greek, it is an unavoidable ugliness. In the church I grew up in, prostitutes were merely sinners destined for hell unless God changed them, and most of the old ladies in the church held little hope for such women.

The story of Rahab comes from the book of Joshua chapter 2, and has Israel in attack mode and headed toward Jericho. Spies were sent out by Israel and they entered the town. Within a very short period of time, they entered the abode of Rahab and tell her, under the penalty of death, who they were and what is coming. Watch what happens as she demonstrates faith and then the associated action.

Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. "When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. "Now, therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." (Joshua 2:8-13 NASB)

Because of what she knew and the fact that the Israelites were here in her home, she exhibited faith and then action by her bartering.

“Now, therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”

As you know, the walls fell and Israel attacked, but all those in Rahab's home were spared. Considering that she was prostitute, do you think her family held her in high regard? Just that thought alone changes so many things about this woman, as she went to her, told them what was coming, and they followed her explicitly.

"The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent." (Joshua 6:17 NASB)

One other thing about this amazing woman. Matthew chapter one spells out the lineage of Jesus through Joseph.

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. (Matthew 1:5 NASB)

And Jesse was the father of King David. And God, to show His righteous ways and cause, brings this woman into the line of Christ.

James ends this chapter with this:

James 2:26 NASB For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Put your faith into action. What's the most predominant thing we can do? Pray and withstand this evil plot of the enemy.

Is the Great White Throne only a death sentence?

My father recently went to the hospital for brain surgery; fortunately, it was successful, and he will regain, in time, motor skills that the tumor had taken from him. We went to visit him after the surgery while he was still in intensive care. Though groggy from the anesthesia and morphine they were giving him for pain, and still he had the awareness to fire off a statement/question at me about the end of time, specifically, the Great White Throne. He said something that is a common belief among those at the Monday morning Bible Study. He opened with, "I know you don't agree with me, but, I believe that everyone who presents themselves before that throne is non-Christians and that they are all sent to the fires of hell." Considering what he had just come through, it was good to have him back.

I, however, after reading my Bible, have concluded, that my understanding is in complete opposition to theirs. And, I believe I can prove my point through some logical reasoning amidst scriptural backing. With that being said, let's tackle this false notion about the Great White Throne judgment from several directions.

First, he used the term belief.

So, what is a belief? Webster's dictionary conveys a generalized explanation of belief that has more to do with a feeling; however, it also has more concise definitions, which I will address shortly.

Feelings do not buy you anything, and our relationship with Christ and the Father, are through faith alone.

Feelings are solely yours, and, though your beliefs may be based on truth, they are most often anchored upon how someone made you feel. In this case, the Bible study leader either, made the men feel good about sending everyone to hell, or, because he raises his voice unnecessarily and slams his hand down on the table he intimidated the men into thinking he was correct in his assumptions, or, they have become inculcated simply because of the repetition of his false teachings.

What I just described is precisely what false teachers do, and you can find this defined for you in 2 Peter chapter 2.

Continuing with Webster's definitions. A belief is:

1. A state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.
   There it is, the basis for the belief of many. Since many Church members won't open their Bibles and read them for themselves, they are compelled to accept, as truth, anything the Pastor, or, in this case, Bible study leader, tells them. In doing so, they have placed their belief in a person, trusting that the teacher has their information correct, and their best interests at heart.
2. Something believed; especially: a tenet or body of tenets held by a group.
   Sadly, most of the men at morning Bible Study, agree, (almost with a stupor,) with the convictions of the leader and the former elder, who is allegedly keeping false teachings restrained. Since the old elder rarely ever disagrees with what is being said, then he too must believe this garbage. So, what do I gather from this? That the group, in the majority, hold to false beliefs and refuse to accept the truth from the Word, when it is set out before them.
3. Conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence.
   To have a conviction of the truth of some declaration does not work for me, especially in our morning Bible study. The leader can speak with confidence, and yet because he does not apply the notion of context nor allow for similar passages to help define questionable matter, he rarely has a shred of evidence to back his statements. The men sitting there may feel some sort of conviction of the truth (typically some misplaced sense of justice.) But again, he has no evidence for his brash statements.

I won't burden you with any more examples, but suffice it to say that most of these men fall under all these categories in some way. Sadly, this is the way far too many people acquire their belief systems. Once it became possible for me to attend on a regular basis, I did, and it is because of that involvement, that I can speak from first-hand experience about what is said there.

The leader(s) declare that everyone going before the Great White Throne is sent to hell. Note that I wrote leader(s) and not the leader. That is because one man, (the former church elder,) has been involved with the church in a teaching role, for over 50 years, and never challenges false teachings.

What is their basis for thinking that God would send all before the Great White Throne, to hell?
I can tell you from experience that this comes uniquely from Revelation chapter 20. So, what do we see in this chapter?

Revelation 20:11-15 NASB 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Verse 11 refers to “Him who sat upon it” (“it,”is the Great White Throne.)

So, who is the Him being referred to? Since we have conclusive evidence, let's look at that.

Revelation 1:1 tells us that the entire book of Revelation is The Revelation of Jesus Christ,

The whole book of Revelation is about Jesus, even if we perceive Him to be God, for that is who He is. So, the person sitting on the throne, doing the judging, is Jesus Christ.

In Revelation 20:12 we are told that John saw, “the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne.” As a student of scripture, you have seen the dead popping up at every turn. It becomes necessary to sort this all out, and we will attempt to do that.

Revelation 20:4-5 NASB Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

All this takes us to the next point.

While God's wrath will be more than enough to get people's attention, there will be a secondary reason for the deaths of people on the earth, and that would be the wrath of Satan, as displayed through those who still choose to serve him. Currently, Islam and your neighborhood bully sufficiently fit those descriptions. Revelation 20:4 portrays an innumerable amount of people, who stand their ground, refuse all three aspects of worshiping the beast, and are beheaded because of their refusal. All these components feed into the dead.

But there is one catch. All those beheaded for their testimony, are deemed to be the martyred, saints and are raised to life again upon the return of Jesus to the earth, this is spelled out for us and called the first resurrection. These martyred saints are not reckoned among the numbers brought before the Great White Throne but sit in judgment over the planet during the thousand-year reign.

So, who then is left to be judged when the Great White Throne gets set up?

There is no good way of approaching this without scripture, so here goes. There has already been a game-changing event, and it happened when Jesus voluntarily put himself on that cross and died as the price necessary for the redemption of the entire world. Paul, in Ephesians 4, gives us a small glimpse into what happened during those three days we "thought" Jesus was dead.

Ephesians 4:8 KJV Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

What does Paul mean when he says, “When he ascended up on high.”? He is talking about Jesus dying. Hung on the cross until dead, and then speared by a Roman soldier to make sure, he was declared dead and put in the grave. Then the amazing happened, for He went into hell, stripped the keys to death, hell and the grave from Satan, set the captives free, and apparently took them into heaven with Him when He rose from the dead.

Captives? I can look at this two ways:

First, no one, including Israel, received Jesus as their savior, as we can. Israel only had the option of making sacrifices for their sins. Lacking this personal relationship, is it possible that these old testament saints may have been included among captives? Most religious zealots would consider this idea preposterous, so let's ignore that feasibility for a moment, and assume that God somehow included the Old Testament saints among the church, and caught them up in the rapture.

If the possibility of catching the Old Testament saints up in the rapture is valid, then they would not have been included among those captives that Christ set free. The captives then were those that died from the beginning of time, as we know it. But then this logic also creates problems, for Christ, as we saw in Ephesians 4:8, preached to the captives. If the old testament saints, and anyone else there were capable of hearing His voice, you would think that they would have accepted Him as the Messiah, and therefore received Him. So, by this logic, they too would no longer be included among the dead, but be in heaven already.

As you ponder the logic of a situation, what do you do with the person who, when confronted by the slain Messiah, God himself who now lives, and yet still chooses to ignore His voice, perhaps thinking that there will be another opportunity? This is unimaginable, and yet a possibility. And, what of Judas Iscariot, a man who most send off to a fiery hell for his betrayal. Wouldn't he too have heard the voice of the Messiah?

This only leaves us with the second option, and that is the dead who have died out of a relationship with the Father since His resurrection. Since we have had over two-thousand years to supply that number, it could be quite significant.

So, an aspect of this belief that everyone called to the throne of judgment is sent to a fiery hell lies in the terminology “dead.”

In 1Thessalonians 4:13, Paul, in trying to bring some comfort about the dead and our being caught up to heaven, explains by calling those that have died, asleep.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NASB 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

Just to make sure that you associate asleep with death Paul uses the Greek word nekros for dead instead of koimáō meaning asleep. It is just a few sentences later, in verse 16, that he conveys that those are the "asleep in Christ" he just spoke of, are simply dead. Dead or asleep, it is all the same, and at the catching away of the Church, those "dead" will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 NASB 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.

Revelation 20:5 Tells us,

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.

The word dead, used here in Revelation 20:5 is nekros. The Prophet Daniel conveys an alternate view,

Daniel 12:1-2 NASB "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

Sleep, as used in verse 2, is the Hebrew word yāšēn: An adjective designating someone as sleeping. It refers to persons in a sleeping state or condition of seemingly sleeping, being inactive. When I apply this understanding to Daniel 12:2, where many are sleeping in the dust of the ground, then it lends itself to the idea of involuntary inactivity.

In a state of inactivity, the dead, we are told, have no thought.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 CJB For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing;...

Psalms 6:5 NASB For there is no mention of You in death;...

Whether they be dead from the origin of time, or merely those since Christ's ascension into heaven, does it really matter? Many will not go up in the rapture as those who have died in Christ. Therefore, our immediate assumption would be that they will only go to hell. Others will come later, in the form of those who choose to fight against God at the end of the seven-year period. While more will die during the thousand-year reign, there is the uncountable number of deceived, who attempt to kill Christ in the last battle at the end of the thousand-year reign. 

Once again, the assumption is that they all go straight to hell, as those who have died without Christ. 

But then you now have another problem as Matthew 25 verses 31-46 describe an entirely different scenario; one in which, Christ, seems like a gracious shepherd who still cares about the flock, and judges the crowd gathered here (the nations,) and shows many of them mercy.  

While we don't have the process explained to us, He is showing mercy because of their small acts of kindness. In a sense, those He calls sheep have acted as Jesus would have, and in so doing, displayed the nature and character of the Father, God. A benefit, we the religious community apparently cannot give them, because they did not jump through all the religious hoops that most of us have. In acting this way, we have set ourselves up as harsh judges, in opposition to the Father's wishes and character, which we are supposed to display.

A contrast and comparison between the Great White Throne of Revelation 20 (the judgment of the dead,) and the Final Judgment of Matthew 25, (the Judgment of the Nations.)
Revelation 20 - The Great White Throne – The gathering of the dead.	Matthew 25 - The Glorious Throne – The judgment of the nations.
Great White Throne - Great is the Greek word mega meaning large, or physical magnitude. White means white, and Throne is the Greek word thrónos; A seat, usually high and having a footstool, a throne as the emblem of royal authority.	Glorious Throne – Greek, the word is doxa; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literally or figuratively, objectively or subjectively): - dignity, glory (-ious), honour, praise, worship.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Since we have learned that the dead are merely asleep and know nothing, that does not exclude them from the nations. The nations are merely those outside of a relationship with God. John, in Revelation 20, unlike the strictly Jewish crowd that Jesus was speaking to, John was writing to Jewish believers. We now have a third people group to consider, the church. Anyone out of the original two groups who accepts Christ into their life moves into the group called the Church. Setting aside such prejudices continued to be difficult for the early church, which for many years was a Jewish one.	Matthew 25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him The understanding we apply to Matthew 25 comes from the idea that Jesus was speaking to a strictly Jewish audience. His audience only concerned itself with two people groups, the Jews, and the nations, for at this time there was no church. Since the Jew deemed those among the nations to be idolaters, those from the nations were utterly lost as far they were concerned. The Law and the prophets considered the dead as knowing nothing, while the righteous were understood to have a reward. So, for Jesus to describe the nations before this throne was a given. And the Jews saw no difference between a live gentile and a dead one.
In Revelation 20, although it appears to be God, it is Jesus. Revelation 1:1 tells us that the entire book is a revealing of Jesus. Therefore it is Jesus on that throne.	In Matthew 25 the judge is presented a gentle shepherd. In John 10:11 Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. Do we believe that? Many do not, and anxiously look for an ominous, wrath-filled God, which they seem to find in Revelation 20, as they choose to ignore that this is Jesus alone.
In Revelation 20 we see books opened. Among those books is the book of life. From all these books the dead were judged.	In Matthew 25 there is no mention of books from which to judge. There is, however, this: Matthew 25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. What does he use as the basis for separation? I think it is rather apparent even if the passages do not speak of them. These are not indistinguishable cattle, they are people; people of every race and color. In reality, no real distinction, and yet He, finds a difference and separates them, calling some sheep and the others goats.
People from this group were judged according to their deeds, nothing more.	People from this group were judged according to their deeds, nothing more.
Revelation 20 focuses on those not found in the books	Matthew 25 focuses primarily on those who were found in the books. We know this because their deeds were recorded.
In Revelation 20, those not found in the books were sent to a fiery hell. While it makes no mention of anyone that might have been found in the books. Does that lack of mention exclude some from not being found in the books, like we see in Matthew's account? No, and it points out the preposterous attitude we convey when we speak of a God that opens such “useless” books, if He, the one who knows the beginning from the end, knows full well whose names are written and where. It merely promotes the idea of a mockery on God's part, and that is not an aspect of His nature.	In Matthew 25, the sheep were given entrance into the kingdom of heaven because of their acts of kindness (works.) While the goats were sent off to eternal punishment.
Something to consider: Both of these groups were judged according to their deeds (we could probably use the words, works, or acts of kindness, instead of deeds.) And, there is entirely NO mention of judgment for sins. Why would that be? Because all sins were forgiven on the cross; and, as much as we might say it from a pulpit, we do not believe it. I know this because we employ the word sin perpetually in religious gatherings, and the terminology is always used as a motive and method of control. Not even God needed to do that. Whether you believe that these two events are the same matters not to me, but what does matter is our flagrant regurgitation of distorted and false teachings that misrepresent the nature and character of God. This is the garbage drives people away from the one thing our hope is based in, the God of grace and mercy. If we are going to make nervy statements, then keep them based in truth. And by the way, the only basis we have for truth is the Word of God, not what you feel or believe simply because your companions believe someone's garbage.

The person that lives in the light shares that light with others.

1 John 1:7 MKJV But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The contemporary English version translated as “live in the light”

Walk – To make ones way, progress. (KJV)
Light – Anything emitting light; Truth and its knowledge; That which is exposed to all; God’s ways.

In contrast to the person that claims companionship with Christ but walks around in darkness, the person that lives in the light (Jesus is the light and we have that assurance in his word.) shares that light with others.

Think about it; if you emit the eternal light how do you prevent others from seeing it, or walking in it?

“But if” – There is always a variable; sadly, not everyone lives or walks in the light.

“As he is in the light,”
“He” can take on three possibilities.

1. God – He is light (unapproachable light.)

1 Timothy 6:16 CEV - Only God lives forever! And he lives in light that no one can come near. No human has ever seen God or ever can see him. God will be honored, and his power will last forever. Amen.

Exodus 33:18-23 NASB - Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" (19) And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion." (20) But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" (21) Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; (22) and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. (23) "Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."

2. Jesus – Since He is God, the Son of God, and the Word by which all things exist, then we can have him take the role of “he.” I suspect this is most likely whom John is referring to.

Hebrews 1:3 AMP - He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high,

3. “He” can also represent the follower of Christ that walks in the light.

Let us be honest with each other once again. We all know “Christians” that are an embarrassment to many of us; I am one, but I am trying to figure out this “light” thing.

As many of you know I am in a Recovery group because circumstances put me into what feels like a lifetime of inadequacy and anger. Only recently, I vented that rage at my girlfriend again, and now I am single (so to speak, I have been single for 20 years) once more. I am writing this because I have an insatiable desire to understand God’s character and love for me.

If I can let you in on a secret, God’s mercy and grace reach so much farther than the damage of my sins - (my constantly missing the mark while I was trying to hit it.) However, that does not mean that I do not do damage; I do, but it does mean that His love for me is unbroken and unending. I have accepted that as fact, and isn’t that all God asks of us? God makes the offering of life with Him through Jesus Christ.

All we have to do is accept that we have that life in Him. The problem is that we are broken people, and we do not like it when someone walks in freedom when we think they should have their heads down in shame. That is called judgment and clearly not our job. Wow, that really spoke to me, but it took several rereads for me to catch it. This is exactly what my attitude has been toward the girlfriend for several days now.

In “Recovery”, you have to make amends so long as in doing so no one is injured physically or emotionally again. There are plenty of divorces that end in death; clearly, we are talking about physical injury in this case. So much like an early American fur trapper, there is no need to stick your foot in a vicious trap again.

Allow me, with the sincerity of my broken heart, to show how to forgive someone.

Father, as I have been writing this, you have made it clear to me that have judged her and held her in my heart with animosity, feeling as though she owes me. You have forgiven her no less than you have forgiven me, and you have released us, your creation from the debts we could never repay. She may never even consider her actions as something that she needs to repent of, therefore I must release her from any debt that I think she owes me. I hand her over to you, her Father. Deal with her lovingly, as I know you will. Father as the days go by and I deal with the loss and pain I ask that you remind me that she belongs to you and that you are in control. Remind me that you are teaching me something that is meant to bring about the fullness of your life in me. Show her your love, because apparently I could not. Oh, and Father. Teach me what it means to be a man who is not co-dependent, and yet loving without giving up my strength, in Jesus name.