Our Lord is coming!
This has been a cry that has been shouted out since the days of Abraham and Moses. Yet it has never been truer than today. Our age has been named Anno domini, which is, "In the day of our Lord." We are living in the age Jesus Christ, between his first coming, and his final coming. It is a time many of us call the Church Age. However, there is a time coming soon, either in the next few moments or in the next 100s of years, when our Lord Jesus will come again. in that day, the church will be raised up and be sent before Jesus in heaven as his bride, and he, the bridegroom.
We live in unique times, God is preparing the World for the Final and Great Tribulation of time. The Ancient Roman Empire is rising slowly from the European Union to late form the New Roman Empire, the government of the Anti-Christ. Technology is being made available that can provide identification chips in people's hands and foreheads. Atomic and hydrogen bombs, in addition to the biological and chemical weapons provide us with the ability to destroy ourselves completely. Global warming is increasingly heating the Earth and could bring drastic climate and weather changes across the world. The UN and EU are providing more means for a one-world government. Moral issues that are against God's word are now flourshing from drugs to abortion. Knowledge is greatly increasing everyday, flight in the last 100 years has gone from propellers and paper to super-sonic speeds. Computers in the last 50-60 years have advanced from house size to fingerprint size. Natural disasters are killing more people everyday than ever. Persecution of Christians is growing daily. And finally, Israel has been regathered in her God-given land and Jerusalem has everyone's eye on her.
What does this mean? The answer is simple, God is preparing the stage before the opening act. The coming of Jesus and the rapture of the church draws ever nearer.
While we are to watch, wait and be ready for Christ's coming, we are to be helping others find Christ. However, the Church cannot do this divided and undedicated. Everyone agrees,
THE CHURCH NEEDS A REVIVAL!
The bridegroom is prepared for the celebrations, but is the bride ready? God is preparing the world and setting the props for the performance of all time, but is the Church and God's children prepared? Ask anyone today, and they will say the Church needs revival, but not just any old revival, but a complete revival.
People always ask which denomination is the true church of the first century A.D. But I say to you, that it doesn't exist among these thousands of denominations! It only exists through them. It will only exist when all denominations are united and dedicated to the Lord Jesus.
The bride needs to be ready for the bridegroom! You may ask how will we get all the thousands of denominations to unite? I have to be honest, I'm not entirely sure (except through Jesus), except for the fact that it needs to happen! All Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Messianic Jews, and Anglicans need to unite under one Christian Church. We are already one Church, but we are a house divided.
Not only this, but we have internal problems in our churches and cathedrals. Just read Revelation and you will see the problems. The church of Ephesus was almost the perfect church. Full of good deeds, patience, intolerability of evil, expsing false prophets, etc... But there was a problem, they lost their focus on the Lord Jesus.
The church of Laodocia was no better, they too had a problem that many churches have today. They claimed to love Jesus, however, they wouldn't dedicate their lives to him. In a sense, they were hypocrites (or pretend Christians). We have churches like that today, who have services, sin, have a short (or very long) sermon and just end as quickly as possible. The churches that have people sleeping, yawning, not paying attention, clock watchers are like this church. Jesus said he'd rather have them "cold or hot" rather than "lukewarm". He'd rather have them anti-Christian or completely Christian instead of pretend Christians. don't expect to be in heaven if you just believe in Jesus and go to church every Sunday. You must also live and dedicate your life to him.
We need to change every single church! No more sleeping or yawning or clock watching in church! Jesus said himself...
He loves us to the end of the Earth, but if we have the nerve to yawn in his presence, or if we aren't excited by his good news and praise, then we will enter judgement unless we be zealous and repent!
In order to prepare the bride for the bridegroom, we must unite the Church and beautify the bride and we must also prepare ourselves for him.
Each Church and denomination has one major problem, and it's been a problem ever since before the coming of Christ. It is just one word and speaks so much, Hypocrites. You know the type, those who go to church and say they love and believe in Christ, but go out, do drugs, fornicate, get drunk, adulterate, etc... In a sense, we could call them phony Christians.
There is also another major problem with every Church. It is dealing with new modern issues arising such as Abortion, Stem Cell research, etc... And the fact that they denominations cannot agree on these issues.
I believe the best way to combat evil is to unite the church... A house divided cannot stand. If we don't unite, repent and improve ourselves, how can we have hope of gaining others in Christ and combating evil?
If we unite, then we could all do just as the apostles and early evangelists did. It was called the Jerusalem Conference in about 49 A.D. Some churches couldn't agree on certain issues and had questions about them. So they all (including the disciples and Paul) united in Jerusalem and conferred and studied scripture and decided on the issues.
This is what we must do. We must first make our churches and denominations better Christians, then we must all unite under one Christian Church, then we must have the great leaders of our denominations meet together in one location and study scripture and make decisions on the issues of today. It should be just like the voting of the Pope. They should be locked behind closed doors and study scripture together until they make official decisions on the issues. Then every denomination will base their beliefs and decisions on their study just as it was like in the first century.
We must unite the Church! We must all unite as Christians! We must prepare the bride for the bridegroom, for he is coming soon to recieve his bride!
Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! Praise your Holy Name Lord, Eternal Father Glorify your name through us, We love you, and may you guide us on the right path!
Praise the Lord Jesus and glory be to God!
