Good morning, blog readers, from partly cloudy/sunny and muggy (63 degrees) Wisconsin where, on my morning walk, I saw: 28 robins, 12 crows, 10 grackles, 3 blackbirds, 3 bunnies, 2 cardinals, 2 cranes, a deer, a dog and a dove! Thank You, Jesus!
This headline from a recent “Christian Post” saddened and angered me: “77 Christians rescued from Nigerian church basement waiting months for Jesus Christ’s return.”
In the article, Anugrah Kumar reported: “Police in Nigeria rescued at least 77 people, including 23 children, who pastors had asked to stay in a church basement and wait for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Pastors of the Whole Bible Believer Church in the Valentino Area of Ondo town in the southwestern state of Ondo had encouraged church members ‘to stay behind’ and wait for the rapture or to be taken to Heaven at the second coming of Christ, a spokeswoman of the Ondo State Police told the media.
Preliminary investigation revealed that one Pastor, Josiah Peter Asumosa, an assistant pastor in the church, was the one who told the members that the Rapture will take place in April, but later said it has been changed to September 2022 and told the young members to obey only their parents ‘in the Lord,’ BBC quoted police press officer Funmilayo Odunlami as saying. The one who claimed that Jesus was to come by September said that it was what God told him.”
Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 24:4, “See to it that no one misleads you.” And, in verse 24, He also said: “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect,” that is, the believers in Jesus.
I know something about this from my own experience which I shared in my book: “Birth Pains: An Introduction to Bible Prophecy.” Back in 1988, I received a book in the mail, “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988 by Edgar C. Whisenant who even said it would occur during the ‘Feast of Trumpets’ (September 11-13) that year. I was new to the subject of Bible Prophecy and the “Rapture” or the “second coming of Christ” for His bride, the church. And so, I got a little excited about it until the dates came and went without Christ’s arrival. And, when Whisenant sent me another book, “89 Reasons Why the Rapture would occur in 1989,” I knew he was a false teacher who was to be avoided like the plague.
And, yes, Jesus did say He is coming again. In fact, in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, He gives us some very specific “clues” or “signs” which will lead up to His return, describing them like “birth pains” (Matthew 24:8) which means that, as we get closer to His return, the pains will increase in frequency and intensity. Jesus also said, in Mark 13:32, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” So, no one knows the exact day or hour of the Lord’s return. However, I also believe, based on Scriptures like I Thessalonians 5:1-6, that the Lord’s return for His bride will not surprise us, as we watch the “signs” of His return increasing in frequency and intensity. So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us “stay on the alert” (Mark 13:33, 35, 37) and keep watching, waiting, working, witnessing for, walking with and worshiping Jesus until He comes. And, if you are not yet a believer in Jesus, there’s still time to become one by agreeing with God you are a sinner who needs a Savior Who is Jesus (Romans 3:23, 24) Who died on a cross for your sins, was buried and raised from the dead (I Corinthians 15:1-4) to forgive all your sins and give you eternal life (John 3:16). Please now I love you