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Secret Place Revelation

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Tag Archives: last days

What Would You Do if You Missed the Rapture?

30 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Rhonda Barnes in Prophecy

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Anti-Christ, last days, Rapture, Tribulation

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I remember several years ago when I was a teenager at my church’s youth camp, I heard a sermon entitled, “What to do if you miss the rapture”. At that time, the recording was on a cassette tape, and we were encouraged to get a copy to leave where those left behind could find it.

Thirty-five years later, I doubt anyone could find my cassette tape or be able to play it if they did. I do wonder how many people will someday use a search engine to ask this very question when they realize they have indeed missed the rapture of the church.

Maybe you are reading this and you have never heard of the Rapture. Let me explain.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

You will not find the word “rapture” in the Bible. However, it describes a biblical event. The word means, “catching away”, and we use it to refer to the catching away of believers to be with the Lord in Heaven. Here are some facts:

  • Approximately one-third of all the prophecies in the Bible deal with the second coming of Christ.
  • Jesus’ return is mentioned 318 times in 216 chapters of the New Testament.
  • Both 1 & 2 Thessalonians are written around the theme of Christ’s return.
  • Several New Testament chapters are devoted to this topic.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”  Matt 24:36-44 NKJV (Also see Mark 13:32-37; Luke 17:26,27,34,35; 21:34-36)

If you are reading this and the Rapture has not occurred, I want to urge you to make sure you are ready should today be the day that the Lord returns! You might be tempted to think this will not happen in your lifetime, but if you study Bible prophecy, you can see the signs of the imminent return of the Lord are all around us!

I recently posted “What Will September Hold” which linked readers to a sermon about many of the signs of the times we are witnessing as they unfold before our very eyes. We do not know the day or the hour, but we can know the season, and I believe we are living in the very last days.

What to Do if You Missed the Rapture!

I know this may seem unconventional, but now I want to address anyone who finds this post at some time in the future and the rapture of the church has already happened. I am sure you are frightened, possibly alone, and are experiencing a world of mass chaos. Many who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior disappeared in a moment. This would have caused much disaster with countless vehicles, machinery, aircrafts, and the like left without anyone to operate them.  This is just the beginning of the great difficulty to come.

What should you do? Try not to panic; there is still hope for you. It would have been much better if you had accepted Jesus as your Savior before the rapture, but you can still do this. Ask Jesus to come into your life as your personal savior. Repent of your sins, quit sinning, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord.

Gather as many Bibles as you can find, keep one close and begin to commit it to memory. Hide the rest, because they will most likely begin to be confiscated. Read the following:

  1. The whole book of Daniel
  2. Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39
  3. The whole book of Revelations
  4. Matthew chapter 24
  5. Luke chapter 21
  6. Then begin reading the whole New Testament. I hope that you are able to locate a study Bible with commentator help. Many of these passages are full of symbolism that is difficult to understand, but it describes the times you are experiencing.

Following the rapture, there will be a seven-year period of great tribulation. Daniel 12:1 and Matthew 24:21-29 speaks of a time of trouble and tribulation such as has never existed. There will be seven seal judgments, seven trumpet judgments, seven thunders, and seven bowl judgments. These will be horrible to endure and many will die. You can read about all of these beginning in Revelations chapter 6.

The first seal in Revelations chapter 6:2 is about the rider of a white horse. He is the Anti-Christ, the ruler of a one-world government, who will quickly rise to power. You MUST NOT take his mark or his number!

“Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’”  Revelations 14:9-12 NASU

It will be difficult to avoid taking this mark, because it will be required to buy and sell. You may be tortured and have to die for your belief, but you must not worship the image of the Anti-Christ.

Here is the good news. If you will stay faithful, you have the below promise:

“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.”  Revelations 20:4-5 NASU

Following this one thousand years of peace, you will enjoy the new heaven and new earth for all eternity. (Revelations 21:10 – 22:9)  Stay strong, and we will meet some day in heaven.

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Unleashing the Potential of the Cross —— A 90-Day Journey

29 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Rhonda Barnes in Christian growth, Prayer

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bible, Christian, church, commitment, communion, cross, God, Jesus, last days, prayer, scripture, seeking, treasures

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At the beginning of April this year, while traveling very early in the morning, I was challenged to embark on a journey as I listened to a sermon by podcast. The minister was discussing many topics that I had been studying and praying about since the beginning of the year. He was encouraging this church to begin a 90-day journey of dedicated time of pray twice a day, which would also include partaking of communion. As I listened, the Lord began to urge me to make this commitment as well.

I thought that these three months would be a personal journey for me, beginning April 11th and ending on July 11th. However, the second day of my commitment was a Sunday, and at the end of our church service, I felt compelled to share briefly with the people at my church about this challenge and encourage others to join if they felt inspired to do so. Our pastor immediately determined that this needed to be a corporate commitment and he said we would have the church open at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day!

Now the accountability became very real! It was one thing to tell the Lord in the privacy of my car that I would pray and take communion twice a day for 90 days, but to do it publically added a new level of commitment that made me thankful. To be honest with you, I entered into that time knowing it was an appointment, but unsure what the purpose or outcome would be. One thing I can say is that if you set aside two hours a day to meet with the Lord, you can expect there to be revelation. It would be impossible for me to share everything about this 90-day journey, but I do want to try to articulate some strategies I believe the Lord showed me that will be critical for us to understand during these final days.

This commitment seemed extreme to many, but I believe we are living in extreme times. We are seeing thing unfold that I never thought I would live to see. Signs of our Lord’s soon return are all around us. However, as darkness gets darker, we the Church are to shine forth bright, this is the time for great visitations, people are looking for a solution, people are looking for deliverance, and Jesus is the answer!

We are living in a time like never before and it is very important that the church wake up and the lost come to Christ. I am not sure how much catastrophe or how much of God’s glory we will see to bring the end time harvest of souls, but I believe we see this time defined in Scripture.

The Bible warns us in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASU

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.”

But in contrast to the great difficulty, look at what we read in Acts 2:17-21 NASU

“AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT and they shall prophesy. AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESSAND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’”

I believe that the time we are living in will require us to enlist and engage as the Army of Christ on a different level than we have in the past. I also believe that that each month of the 90-day journey painted a picture of the seasons we must learn to navigate. In this post, I want to provide the introduction, and then I will post insights from each month in parts two through four.

For me personally, the significance of the beginning of this 90 days on 4/11 can be referenced in the below scripture.

“And He said to them, to you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is, the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [of our circle] everything becomes a parable.” Mark 4:11 AMP

When Jesus walked on this earth, He often taught by using stories, analogies, or parables. These stories often concealed the truth from those who would oppose His message. However, those who were closest to Him could understand the truth behind the comparisons.

Another way to say it is, Jesus veiled the truth in parables and then looked for treasure hunters who could reveal the story in the story.

The thing about a treasure hunt is it requires perseverance and commitment. This leads to the significance of the end of the 90 days 7/11….

“If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!” Matthew 7:11 AMP

If you consider this scripture in context going back to the previous chapter there are many wonderful nuggets….

Matthew 6:19-21 AMP

“Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

This 90-day journey was not about treasure on earth it was about Kingdom treasure. The kind of treasure that is found with perseverance, commitment, and sacrifice and through methods that was inconvenient! Many, like those who did not understand the parables, do not realize that these treasures are even available. They are hidden unless you seek and ask for them.

It is critical for us to find them now, because I believe these treasures will enable and empower us to navigate the unique times we are living in!

Matthew 7:7-8 AMP

“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.”

Asking implies consciousness of need and belief that God hears our prayers. Seeking implies earnest petitioning along with obedience to God’s will. Knocking implies perseverance in coming to God even when He does not respond quickly.

90 days of asking, seeking, and knocking through prayer and communion twice a day. 90 X 2 = 180! Many people need a “180” in their lives, and this 90-day journey was a dedicated time to seek direction and ask for that to happen.

So you may be asking, “Why communion?” I do not believe I fully understood this at the beginning, but I quickly learned that at least for me, and I believe also for the Body of Christ, we need a renewed passion for the power of the cross!

Perhaps you noticed the title is not “Unleashing the Power of the Cross”. This was my original plan, but through prayer, I realized it should be “Unleashing the Potential of the Cross”. Let me explain why…

Do you know what that word potential means? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it means, “existing in possibility: capable of development into actuality.”

We talk about the power of the cross, the power of the blood of Jesus, but we do not always walk in that power so it is actually potential.

It is easy to become too familiar with the cross and the sacrifice Jesus made on it if you have been a Christian for a long time. I began to be stirred about the power of the cross and Jesus’ blood a month before Easter this year. Our pastor had placed a big, wooden cross on the platform for his sermon series. The first Sunday it was there, I was sitting on the front chair, and while Pastor was preaching, I began to have a fresh perspective of the meaning. I began to thank God for sending His only Son Jesus to die on the cross for me – I thanked Jesus for that ultimate sacrifice and for shedding His blood for me, and for bleeding as he bore those stripes for my healing.

While sitting there looking at that cross, I got a glimpse of something in my spirit….You know how you can watch crime scene coverage or TV shows and they go to a place where they think someone has cleaned up the blood from a crime? They show the agent spray the substance called luminol. Then turn the light off and they see the blood that was not previously visible show up in a blue color.

That morning, looking at that cross, I got a glimpse of what the enemy and all his forces see when they come out of darkness to bring opposition to the child of God….they see the blood! It may have been shed 2000 years ago, many have tried to clean it up, but it is still there!

Just as the Children of Israel applied the blood of a lamb for protection, we in this age apply the blood of Jesus. We pray from the place of the power of the blood, the cross, and the resurrection. That same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us!

During this 90-day journey, I heard God say this:

My Son’s blood is more than enough to meet every need and break every chain!

My son’s blood purchased your salvation.

My son’s blood paid the price for your healing, but what you must understand is His great sacrifice also granted you access to heavenly places:

When He breathed His last breath on the cross, the veil of the temple was rent in two from top to bottom, granting you access to joint seating with My Son!

My son met all requirements once and for all!

Do not allow His great sacrifice to be taken for granted.

The door is standing wide open! Access has been granted for you to walk in all authority, power, and revelation…to be My hands and feet, and voice in this earth in these final hours.

THIS WORD CHALLENGES ME TO SEE THE CROSS AS MORE THAN A FIRE ESCAPE!!!

I believe this is why communion twice a day for 90 days was so important during this consecrated time.  I can tell you for me; it brought a brand new perspective of the potential of the cross.

Day after day, I came to the cross; I laid many things down at the cross, things I do not need to carry because He already carried them for me. I would pray, “Lord if you will take care of my business, I will focus on Yours!

Day after day, I not only laid things down at the cross, but I picked things up from the cross. He said, “Access has been granted to walk in all authority, power, and revelation.” Day after day, I picked up authority, I picked up power, and I picked up revelation!

I learned that the closer proximity to the cross, the greater the power.

Why am I telling you about this? Because it is available for each of us! I feel like this 3-month period was an ordained period for me personally and for our corporate body. We saw some of the “180’s” happen, but more importantly, there was a “180” in my perspective about the potential of the cross that is available to us! It is not limited to this 90-day journey, but is available for the remaining days we live on this earth!

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"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." Psalm 91:1-2 KJV
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