DON WROTE

Richard! Richard!  Isn't this the third time that you have written me? But you haven't heard me yet–so, let me try again. 

There are two absolutes in the Bible that we must observe lest we end up in error.  They are:

1. No man shall know the day that the LORD JESUS shall return!

Matthew 24:
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 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.
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

2. The end-time Beast shall not be revealed until after the Church is taken up to be with the Lord.

II Thessalonians 2:
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day 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.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 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.

Although the Bible declares that the believer cannot know the day or hour of our LORD's return (i.e., the Rapture) or the identity of the end-time Beast (i.e., political ruler), there are some things that our heavenly Father does want us to know about these two key Biblical events.

As to our Lord's return to take up His Church, we are commanded to be watchful; and we are given many things to look for–which are known among believers as the "end-time signs."  I will not go into the signs now (we go into them in some detail in our on-line books CLOCK OF THE AGES and MARK THEM), but I will note that more and more of the signs are taking place around us and many of them with greater intensity.  However, we are not to be aware of the end-time signs so that we can waste time in disobedience trying to name the day that Jesus will return; but that we might be busy occupying until He comes (Luke 19:13).  By occupying, I believe that the Lord meant He wants us to be the light of the world by sharing the Good News of His death, burial, and resurrection; to walk with Him daily as we are led by His Spirit; and to share our hope of living in His presence for the remainder of eternity!

As to the identity of the end-time beast, I think that we can already see the Lord's wisdom in letting us know that he will not be revealed until after the Church is gone.  Think on it!  The past several generations have been inundated by self-appointed prophets declaring that this or that world leader is the end-time beast.  Of course, time has proven them to be liars; and the only thing they accomplished was to create confusion.  But as with the day of our LORD's return, I believe that the Bible's disclosure of the fact that there will be an end-time man of sin can serve to help us be watchful as to the atmosphere that will spawn such a man.  In fact, this might even be considered as an end-time sign. Also, our heavenly Father is well aware of our curiosity, and He knows that we can't help but wonder---and I feel that this is alright as longer as we just "wonder."

You obviously notice that I didn't put up your lengthy study, perhaps you can now understand why.

B'ANN WROTE:

As always, if Satan can keep us busy with trying to search for a truth that is really not our concern, he ties up our time and efforts that should be used for soul-winning.  Christians are fast becoming the minority in the world because we no longer understand the concept of what it means to be a follower of Christ.  Jesus said,

Matthew 4:19
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mark 16:15
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Luke 14:23
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

How well are we doing???  If each person that claims to be a Christian would count on their fingers how many people they have personally witnessed to, and brought to Christ; then, we would really be coming to grips with the truth.  Hopefully, when people hold up their fingers for the count, it will be more than the one "pointer finger" that we use to point out people's faults. May God have mercy upon us. We are ever seeking knowledge and never coming to the truth.

II Timothy 3:7
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

II Timothy 4:
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry
 

Kindly send me christian books and other inspirational books that you might have to help me in my spiritual life.  l desperately need these books yet they are so expensive here and we have a foreign currency shortage and economic hardships here in Zimbabwe which means l am not able to buy them from other countries.  Even second hand ones will do and your unwanted ones.  Thank you for your assistance.  May you prosper in the spirit as l also prosper through these books.  Thank you for everything in Jesus name.
My name and address is
Mrs Lillian Madiye
4713 Svosve Street
Unit C Seke
Chitungwiza
Zimbabwe,Africa

DON WROTE:

Hello Lillian,

We get many requests like yours.  However, because we purposely do not solicit money for our ministry, we are unable to meet your needs in actual books.  Nevertheless, since you were able to Email us, apparently you are able to search the web.  If you will go to the following web page, you will find a virtual library of first-class Christian study books.  It will take you quite a while to get familiar with all that's in them, but it will be a joyful time. 

http://doweknow.com/html-files/biblestudytest.htm

If you are just beginning your study of the Word of God, let me suggest that you first begin by reading the Gospel of John and the book of Acts.  If you will, the Holy Spirit will take you from there. 

Love,

Don

You Wrote:

B'Ann Wrote:
 

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